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| MickeyXtreme's News Archive October 2005 | ||
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Thursday October 20, 2005 |
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A true slice of Ireland comes to Walt Disney
World Resort with the opening of Raglan Road Irish Pub and
Restaurant at Downtown Disney Pleasure Island. Owned and
operated by an Irish company, Raglan Road features the very
best of authentic Irish food, drink, heritage and live
entertainment.
The Irish culture is known
for its warmth, character and hospitality, and Raglan Road
delivers an experience immersed in genuine Irish ambiance.
With capacity for 600 guests, Raglan Road is warm and
welcoming with custom furnishings, lighting and wall coverings
-- all designed and built in Ireland by Irish craftspeople.
Irish antiques, ornamentation and bric-a-brac complete the
authentic décor.
Four distinct antique bars, each more than 130 years old and imported from Ireland, serve as focal gathering areas. These grand fixtures were crafted from rich woods, such as mahogany and walnut, and feature marble adornments, leaded glass and ornate detailing. To complete the authenticity, and in keeping with tradition, a wide selection of cold, creamy and fresh Irish beers and fine Irish whiskies will be served. Traditional and contemporary Irish music, storytelling and dance help create a spirited social ambience, and the friendly pub staff brings Emerald Isle charm to Downtown Disney. Irish musicians entertain nightly and guests are encouraged to sing, clap and dance to the lively performances. The restaurant's gastronomic delights are the creation of Master Chef Kevin Dundon, one of Ireland's best-known and most celebrated chefs. With training in Ireland, Switzerland and Canada, Dundon has cooked for celebrities and heads of state, including Queen Elizabeth. His credits also include opening an award-winning Irish hotel and restaurant, appearing in his own television series on UK Food Channel, making numerous national television appearances in the U.S., U.K. and Canada, authoring the cookbook "Full On Irish" and being invited to cook at the prestigious James Beard Foundation in New York. The Raglan Road menu offers bistro-style Irish fare and fresh ingredients, all with a modern flair and Celtic creativity. Natural tastes, flavor and quality prevail in dishes such as Raglan Rack (rack of lamb on a delicate Irish stew consommé), Kevin's Kudos (oven-roasted loin of bacon with an Irish mist glaze, served with braised cabbage and creamed potato) and Salmon of Knowledge (fresh grilled salmon with a hickory-scented maple sauce). For guests wanting food to go, Cooke's of Dublin is a counter service location adjacent to Raglan Road where fish and chips and other quick and casual fare are available. There is also a retail location that offers Raglan Road and Irish-designed clothing and merchandise. "We are thrilled to introduce an authentic Irish pub to Downtown Disney," said Djuan Rivers, vice president of Downtown Disney. "The superior level of quality, authenticity and energy that this new venue brings is a perfect complement to Downtown Disney's lineup of world-class retail, dining and entertainment." "Having built more than 400 Irish pubs, literally in the four corners of the world, we believe that this is our best expression yet," said Paul Nolan, Raglan Road co-owner. "We are incredibly proud and excited to have the opportunity to bring a real slice of Ireland to Downtown Disney." The "real" Raglan Road is located on the south side of Dublin. It was made famous by renowned Irish poet Patrick Kavanagh in a love poem entitled, "The Dawning of the Day." In the 1960s, Irish folk singer Luke Kelly first put the poem to music. "Raglan Road" has become a seminal Irish song and has since been covered by such artists as U2, Sinead O'Connor and Van Morrison. As a tribute to Patrick Kavanagh, a specially commissioned bronze sculpture of the poet sits outside Raglan Road Irish Pub and Restaurant at Downtown Disney. Raglan Road is owned and operated by Great Irish Pubs Florida, Inc., the Irish-owned company that previously created Nine Fine Irishmen at the New York-New York Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas. Pleasure Island club admission is not required for entrance to Raglan Road. |
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Jewell Engstrom has been promoted to the
position of chief financial officer and executive vice
president for Disney ABC Cable Networks Group.
In her new role, Ms. Engstrom adds international finance and accounting responsibilities, overseeing all finance-related issues for Disney ABC Cable Networks Group's international networks, including 23 Disney Channels, eight Toon Disney channels, eight Playhouse Disney channels, the wholly owned Jetix Latin America, and over a dozen Jetix channels across Europe. She will continue to be responsible for all finance-related issues concerning the division's wholly-owned domestic entities, including ABC Family, Disney Channel, Toon Disney, and SOAPnet. She also oversees financial issues in regard to the Walt Disney Television Animation production unit and Disney's equity interest in Lifetime Entertainment Services, A&E Television Networks, and E! Networks. Additionally, Ms. Engstrom formulates new financial and business opportunities for the group and oversees long-term planning. She is a member of the Lifetime Television Board of Directors. Based in Burbank, Ms. Engstrom will continue to report to Anne Sweeney, co-chair, Disney Media Networks and president, Disney-ABC Television Group. Ms. Engstrom has held several finance management positions during her fifteen years with the company, serving most recently as chief financial officer and senior vice president. She joined Disney Channel in September of 1990 as manager of finance. |
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"Big
Hitters Invade the Magic Kingdom"
Lets hope Woods proves to be a sure thing,
for with Tiger looking to move this year from Orlando to the
Florida coast, this could be Disneys last chance for romance.
In truth, the FUNAI Classic has always been a strange choice
for Woods, given that the tournament takes place over two
relatively undistinguished courses and includes a pro-am
format. In an effort to keep abreast with Tour trends, the
Disney team opted to lengthen the Magnolia course by 400 yards
since last years event, as part of a $600,000 upgrade. With
the Magnolia now measuring a beefy 7,450 yards, golf
handicappers will be speculating on the effect of the added
distance. |
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Disney
showing off a Mickey Mouse setup?
There was a sense out at Walt Disney World on Wednesday that it's not really a small world after all -- at least not in golf. Not when the pitch-and-putt Magnolia Course is being stretched to 7,516 yards. Not when the fairways are wet and mud is caking up on the ball. Not when a tournament that used to be a working vacation ends up playing like a major. "This is the Funai Classic," John Cook said after his practice round, "not the U.S. Open." For years, traditionalists have been crying out for a need to see tour players hit long irons into greens. The irony is that it could come this week, at a venue associated with winning scores of 22 to 26 under. They must be trying to Ryan Palmer-proof it, after the rookie shot 62 on Sunday last year for a 266 total. "The average drive has gone up 15 yards," the 48-year-old Cook said. "They're lengthening holes 50 yards. I don't get the math. It's not proportional." Cook had a driver, a 3-wood, a 4-wood, a 5-wood and a utility club in his bag. He used them all and proclaimed, "Somebody [in the gallery] could get killed this week," by an errant mud ball from 235 yards away. He played with Steve Flesch in a twosome of two below-average-length hitters. Yet at 272.4 yards per drive, Cook is still longer than the days when he recorded 11 victories. "Average" nowadays is 285 yards off the tee. Over on the Palm Course, Mark O'Meara was playing with the man who caused this all to happen, Tiger Woods. All morning, O'Meara pointed out that adding length to a course -- which is what everybody from Disney to Augusta National has done -- only plays to Tiger's strength. "I'd like to see them pinch in the fairways and plant roses bushes with big thorns," O'Meara said. "If you want everybody to compete, play a course hard and fast. At Augusta, take out the secondary cut and take the pine needles out into the fairway and let the trees be the equalizer. Most of these doglegs today, these guys hit it over the doglegs and the hazards. You have to hit the ball long. You have to be strong and you've got to be powerful." The 48-year-old O'Meara, now wearing a white goatee, paused before delivering the punch line. "That's why I'm looking into the possibility of opening the fly shop and becoming a fishing guide," he said. There's a conspiracy theory that deep in some back room at PGA Tour headquarters in Ponte Vedra, there's been a decree made to set up courses so they would favor Tiger and the long hitters, because Tiger and the stars drive the game and ultimately the TV contract that puts money on everybody's table. The theory is simple: When you lengthen, you eliminate. Woods turns 30 at the end of the year and knows the deal. He is second on tour in driving distance at 315.2 yards, and there's the sense that's not long enough. At the Presidents Cup, Gary Player said the average drive on tour will someday be closer to 400 than 300 yards. "We have not had a Shaquille O'Neal play golf yet," he said. Just 90 miles from Disney, the University of South Florida's Brad Quiri stands out at the second stage of Q School at the TPC of Tampa Bay. At 6-foot-7, Quiri carries the ball 320 yards, and he's just filling into his frame. To keep pace, Woods has had to go high-tech himself, adding 2 inches to his driver shaft and going from graphite to steel, and now to a 460 CC Nike driver called The Sasquatch that he was bombing in practice rounds. The club has an "amateur version" head, and Woods says he likes it for the "stability" and the way he can turn the ball over. The hardest part is getting the head cover off. "The ball was coming off so fast I couldn't draw it any more," Woods said. "It wasn't staying on the face long enough." Not everybody has that problem, so this will be a good measure of whether distance matters. The tougher courses this year have been the shorter courses. |
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Disney
Wear Wanders From Wal-Mart To Dolce & Gabbana
What with crawlers to tiny teens not always having access to $1,400 (£803) for a crystal studded Mickey Mouse T-shirt; Disney has decided to go for gold, sorry, grown-ups. It all started several years ago when chairman of consumer products Andy Mooney, was lead into the treasure tunnel that time forgot, by Disney historian Dave Smith. As if upon a dream, Designer Disney was born, earned in excess of $200,000,000 since 2003, and business has yet to dwindle. While you may have missed ‘Alice In Wonderland’ fashion wear star struck events in LA’s Fashion Week this year; jewellery, tea sets, pillow cases, bathroom tiles, accessories (hats?), and more decor will be hitting the shops at the higher end next spring. The chief executive of Luxury Institute, a group researching America’s wealthy, Milton Pedraza said; "I think it's just a pendulum swinging back to the classics, and Disney is a true American and global classic." Gwen Stefani’s music video this spring might have egged the craze on a bit. So come on, what you waiting for, the lottery? |
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New
Disney fantasy to come to Henderson
New Disney fantasy to come to the Henderson Valley Studios Waitakere has scored another international film coup, with the announcement that Disney Corporation is coming back to the city to film another top children’s fantasy adventure. Disney and co-producer, Walden Media have announced they will be filming The Bridge to Terabithia., at the Henderson Valley Studios and at various locations. The production will be based at Hobsonville. “I understand the decision to film here is directly related to the strength of New Zealand special effects,” says Mayor Bob Harvey, who drove the decision to acquire the old Enza cool-stores in Henderson Valley Road and turn them into film studios. Mr Harvey says the film will be based on the award-winning children's novel by Katherine Patterson. The story follows an 11-year-old boy who befriends a girl who is an outsider and together they build a world with magical creatures, and are changed forever. Mr Harvey paid tribute to the role Film Auckland played in helping to secure the deal. Waitakere and Auckland Cities helped create Film Auckland three years ago after Xena, Warrior Princess began winding down. “People said the film industry would die after Xena but we believed that New Zealand in general and Auckland and Waitakere in particular had talent and other advantages that Hollywood and European producers simply couldn’t ignore. “Together, we made a DVD about the places and people we offer, around the world. At the same time Waitakere bought the buildings that have become the Henderson Valley Studios – and we have never looked back,” he says. “A measure of the success of film Auckland is that it is supported by two pro-active councils and partly by the fact that it works in close collaboration with the film industry. We endeavour to work the way film-makers work - and that is attractive,” he says. Pre-production on Bridge to Terabithia is expected to start within the next few weeks with principal photography starting in late January 2006, for release in 2007 The film will be directed by Gabor Csupo, who created the Rugrats and Wild Thornberrys and worked on early episodes of The Simpsons. Mr Harvey said he understood that renowned American director Martin Scorsese is also considering coming to New Zealand to make his next film, Silence. This is based on a 16th-century tale about Portuguese missionaries in Japan. “We will be trying to interest him in using the studios if at all possible,” Mr Harvey says. |
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Disney Insider - An expectant crowd gathers
in the small theater at Disney's California Adventure - a
bunch of kids on the floor up front to be close to the
action, and grown-ups and more kids behind. A host appears
and urges the audience to call Crush the turtle in from
the EAC (that's East Australian Current, natch!) and
finally he arrives. Crush looks great - exactly as he does
in "Finding Nemo," in fact - and everyone
expects a great show. But still, jaws drop as kids start
asking Crush questions about life as a sea turtle -
questions that he clearly hears, and answers
spontaneously. Crush isn't just a special effect; he's
someone you can chat with, who knows what you're saying
and always has a surprising answer.
That's the experience Guests have every day at Turtle Talk, a groundbreaking experience that goes beyond passive entertainment to let audiences "meet" a character on terms that make him feel real. How does Crush do it? Imagineer Joseph Garlington isn't telling - that would ruin the magic. And Crush's biggest fans simply don't care. "Kids have a different sense of the universe than adults do, and they divide reality and fantasy in different ways," Joseph observes. "I think most kids sort of expect that you should be able to talk to an animated character, the same way you can talk to any other performer. So the kids get a chance to talk to this animated character, and they think it's wonderful." Grown-ups can't help wondering how it works. It's quite clear that it's no illusion - Crush really hears you and responds spontaneously, and Joseph urges Guests to prove this to themselves. "The thing that is so cool about Crush is how he handles surprise. So think of a funny or interesting question, something that you think nobody might have asked him, and see how he handles those questions. When you ask him something unusual or unexpected and he answers that, the surprise in the audience is great. It's what shows him to be most believably there." For instance, Crush asked one young guest what he liked to eat, and the little boy responded, "I eat turtles!" Crush immediately fled behind a rock to escape the peril! Things like this, or Crush hearing a Guest's cell phone ring, make it clear the Turtle Talk isn't a pre-scripted show. Crush is part of a movement to create what the Imagineers call "Living Characters" - creatures that can interact with Guests in new and exciting ways, creatures that seem REAL. Another Living Character taking a somewhat different approach is Lucky the Dinosaur. Lucky debuted at Disney's Animal Kingdom in spring 2005; this fall he jetted off to Hong Kong to help celebrate the opening of Hong Kong Disneyland, where he'll remain for three months. Unlike Crush, Lucky doesn't talk. However, he does walk freely around the park, among the Guests. This amazing nine-foot-tall reptile has a huge repertoire of behaviors - he can sneeze, wink, whimper, smile, laugh, bray - and even get the hiccups! Lucky's not a person in a dinosaur suit, and although a helper walks with him holding a stick for Lucky to grasp, he's not controlled by that helper. Lucky and Crush are huge steps forward in the Disney tradition of creating compelling characters. Starting with Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln and the birds of the Enchanted Tiki Room, characters who feel real have been a Disney hallmark. It's all part of the allure of a visit to a Disney theme park. Says Joseph, "At Imagineering, we're always interested in pushing the envelope in terms of developing new and exciting ways to entertain Guests. We know that our Guests love our characters and want to be able to interact with them, and we think the work we're doing with ‘living characters' advances the bar. "Arthur Clarke said, years ago, ‘Technology sufficiently evolved is indistinguishable from magic,' and we're in that area with this show, I think." And the magic is what it's all about. |
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Wednesday October 19, 2005 |
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San Jose-based comic book publisher SLG
Publishing will release the first issue of The Haunted Mansion
comic book this week.
The comic book, based on the favorite Disneyland and Walt Disney World attractions and not on the motion picture, tells the story of the 999 happy haunts who inhabit the Mansion and offers a combination of funny, spooky and scary looks at everyone's favorite Haunted House. Two Southern California stores will be marking the release of the comic with special events during the month of October. Meltdown Comics & collectibles will be hosting a gallery showing of artwork from the series, including concept art developed for the comic and pieces from unreleased issues of the comic book. The show runs the entire month of October and will end with a special closing night reception on Saturday, October 29th, from 6-9 PM. In attendance at the reception will be artists Black Olive, D.W. Frydendall and cover artist Roman Dirge. For more information on the Meltdown Comics event contact: Hazel Meltdown Comics 7522 Sunset Blvd. Los Angeles, CA 90046 http://www.meltcomics.com Dark Delicacies, a Burbank area retailer of horror literature and merchandise will host a pre-release signing on Saturday October 22nd from 2-3 PM. Signing copies of issue #1 will be Black Olive and D.W. Frydendall. For more information on the Dark Delicacies event contact Dark Delicacies at 4213 W. Burbank Boulevard Burbank, California, 91505. Phone number: 1-888-DARKDEL Haunted Mansion will be a 32 page black & white comic book with a cover price of $2.95. Covers will be by Roman Dirge. Haunted Mansion will be available at better comic book stores and select book stores this October as well as on Amazon.com and at Hot Topic stores. The comic will also be available through the publisher's web site at www.slgpublishing.com The Haunted Mansion #1 features work by noted comic book creators including Roman Dirge (creator of Lenore), Black Olive, D.W. Frydendall and Jon "Bean" Hastings. For more information on the Haunted Mansion, or to obtain a review copy, contact the number above. |
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Raglan
Road Offers Genuine Emerald Isle Charm, Fresh Irish Fare and
Lively Entertainment
A true slice of Ireland comes to Walt Disney
World Resort with the opening of Raglan Road Irish Pub and
Restaurant at Downtown Disney Pleasure Island. Owned and
operated by an Irish company, Raglan Road features the very best
of authentic Irish food, drink, heritage and live entertainment. |
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Traditional and contemporary Irish music,
storytelling and dance help create a spirited social ambience,
and the friendly pub staff brings Emerald Isle charm to
Downtown Disney. Irish musicians entertain nightly and guests
are encouraged to sing, clap and dance to the lively
performances.
The restaurant's gastronomic delights are the creation of Master Chef Kevin Dundon, one of Ireland's best-known and most celebrated chefs. With training in Ireland, Switzerland and Canada, Dundon has cooked for celebrities and heads of state, including Queen Elizabeth. His credits also include opening an award-winning Irish hotel and restaurant, appearing in his own television series on UK Food Channel, making numerous national television appearances in the U.S., U.K. and Canada, authoring the cookbook "Full On Irish" and being invited to cook at the prestigious James Beard Foundation in New York. The Raglan Road menu offers bistro-style Irish fare and fresh ingredients, all with a modern flair and Celtic creativity. Natural tastes, flavor and quality prevail in dishes such as Raglan Rack (rack of lamb on a delicate Irish stew consommé), Kevin's Kudos (oven-roasted loin of bacon with an Irish mist glaze, served with braised cabbage and creamed potato) and Salmon of Knowledge (fresh grilled salmon with a hickory-scented maple sauce). For guests wanting food to go, Cooke's of Dublin is a counter service location adjacent to Raglan Road where fish and chips and other quick and casual fare are available. There is also a retail location that offers Raglan Road and Irish-designed clothing and merchandise. "We are thrilled to introduce an authentic Irish pub to Downtown Disney," said Djuan Rivers, vice president of Downtown Disney. "The superior level of quality, authenticity and energy that this new venue brings is a perfect complement to Downtown Disney's lineup of world-class retail, dining and entertainment." "Having built more than 400 Irish pubs, literally in the four corners of the world, we believe that this is our best expression yet," said Paul Nolan, Raglan Road co-owner. "We are incredibly proud and excited to have the opportunity to bring a real slice of Ireland to Downtown Disney." The "real" Raglan Road is located on the south side of Dublin. It was made famous by renowned Irish poet Patrick Kavanagh in a love poem entitled, "The Dawning of the Day." In the 1960s, Irish folk singer Luke Kelly first put the poem to music. "Raglan Road" has become a seminal Irish song and has since been covered by such artists as U2, Sinead O'Connor and Van Morrison. As a tribute to Patrick Kavanagh, a specially commissioned bronze sculpture of the poet sits outside Raglan Road Irish Pub and Restaurant at Downtown Disney. Raglan Road is owned and operated by Great Irish Pubs Florida, Inc., the Irish-owned company that previously created Nine Fine Irishmen at the New York-New York Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas. Pleasure Island club admission is not required for entrance to Raglan Road. |
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Raglan
Road Irish pub menu features fresh foods at DTD
The shepherd's pie is Angus beef and the Colorado lamb comes with a rich port wine sauce that takes three days to create. The fish is flown in fresh daily from Boston, creatively sauced or crisped in a delicate beer batter. This isn't your uncle's Irish pub. "We left corned beef and cabbage behind 50 years ago," said Paul Nolan, co-owner of Raglan Road Irish Pub and Restaurant at Downtown Disney. "Ireland is one of the richest and most sophisticated countries in the world, and our attitude toward food is much more expansive." Everything is fresh on the menu at Raglan Road, the new Irish pub and restaurant at Downtown Disney Pleasure Island. Celebrated Irish chef Kevin Dundon is behind the superb cuisine, and calls the concept "fine dining standards in a casual context -- with Celtic creativity." Chef Dundon has cooked for notables such as Queen Elizabeth, U2 and Brad Pitt. He is best known for his own television series on the UK Food Channel and as proprietor of the prestigious Dunbrody Country House Hotel & Restaurant in southeast Ireland. "The menu is contemporary, but you'll still find Irish classics at Raglan Road," said Dundon. The diverse dishes all start with high-quality ingredients," he explained. "We know the ship and skipper's name for each fish, and the Irish bacon is from a local butcher," he continued. "Choice ingredients are the heart of each dish, all fresh, nothing frozen." There's plenty of upscale bar food for noshing, like smoked salmon and cream cheese served with blinis, scallops with a lime dipping sauce and battered cocktail sausages served with a mustard dip -- bite-sized servings all cleverly presented on upright forks. The decadent "Smokie City" is layers of smoked cod and Wexford cheddar and double cream, served with crusty bread for dipping. Little crocks of pate with chutney are perfect with a creamy dark ale. The roast rack of lamb arrives with a light, broth-based Irish stew. An indulgent loin of bacon is glazed with Irish Mist and served with creamy potatoes and braised cabbage. And, of course, there are beer-battered fish and chips with a side of tartar sauce. For sweet endings, the Dunbrody Kiss, a decadent chocolate mousse with a crunchy caramel base drizzled with chocolate ganache sauce, is irresistible. Other favorites include bread-and-butter pudding with butterscotch and crème anglaise and a Baileys coffee cream pot. "We're taking Irish food to a new level," explained Dundon. Chef Brian Kenney, who trained in Ireland with Dundon, is at the helm of the Raglan Road kitchen. Dundon was pivotal in setting up the kitchen, creating the menu and training the staff, and will travel from Ireland several times a year. When he's away, Dundon communicates with the staff via a Web camera installed in the 21st century kitchen. To complete the authenticity and complement the tradition, a full selection of Irish stouts, lagers, creamy ales and premium spirits is served. Add nightly live music by a band direct from Ireland and the true Irish ambiance is complete. "Raglan Road is authentic in every way," said Nolan, who hails from Dublin. "It's like lifting a pub from Ireland and dropping it in Orlando. It oozes Irishness." |
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ABC's
latest hit: 'Freddie'
The Freddie Prinze Jr. comedy, airing at 8:30 p.m. EDT Wednesday, was the most-watched show among all viewers in its time period (9.4 million) and among the advertiser-favored adults aged 18 to 49 (5.4 million). It was helped by lead-in "George Lopez," which has been resurgent in its new 8 p.m. EDT Wednesday home, winning in viewers and adults. But "Freddie" did even better than fourth-season "George Lopez," which drew 8.8 million in total viewers and 4.5 million in young adults, according to Nielsen Media Research figures released Tuesday. For Fox, the baseball postseason has averaged 10.3 million prime-time viewers through last week, down 6 percent compared to 2004. As it has for all of the young TV season, CBS retained its position as the most-watched network for the week ending Sunday and also was No. 1 among 18-to-49 adults, snapping ABC's three-week winning streak with those viewers. CBS averaged 13.4 million viewers for the week (8.7 rating, 14 share), ABC had 10.7 million (6.9, 11), Fox 10.5 million (6.9, 11), NBC 9.6 million (6.4, 10), WB 3.8 million (2.5, 4), UPN 3.7 million (2.4, 4) and Pax TV 550,000 (0.4, 1). NBC's "Nightly News" topped the evening news ratings race, averaging 9.2 million viewers (6.5 rating, 13 share). ABC's "World News Tonight" had 8.3 million viewers (5.9, 12) and the "CBS Evening News" 6.9 million (4.9, 10). A ratings point represents 1,102,000 households, or 1 percent of the nation's estimated 110.2 million TV homes. The share is the percentage of in-use televisions tuned to a given show. |
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'The
Sky is Falling!'
Disney's Chicken Little video games are now available at retail outlets across North America! The game brings the excitement of the film to life, allowing gamers to play as the key characters in an endless variety of fast paced game play. For each mission, players learn to master an arsenal of gadgets, including bottle rocket jet packs, slingshots, yo-yos, cannons, hover boards, and an alien suit to get the characters out of sticky situations (alien invasions, spiraling asteroids, corn field mazes, etc). Players will master 21 levels that capture key movie moments and environments, even extending the experience into outer space! "Disney's Chicken Little" is the first computer-generated motion picture presented by Walt Disney Pictures. Coming to theaters nationwide on November 4, the story takes off where the classic fable ends. It's the tale of how Chicken Little redeems himself after the day he inadvertently alarmed the town of Oakey Oaks that "the sky is falling!" when in fact, an acorn had merely hit him on the head. The games are designed for the PlayStation2 computer entertainment system, Xbox video game console from Microsoft, Nintendo GameCube, Game Boy Advance and PC. For more information, please visit www.buenavistagames.com |
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Steve
Jobs and Disney, part II
As the iPod moves into the video business, Hollywood and broadcast veterans say Apple may have a tougher time dealing with TV and movie studios than it has had with the music labels. Studio chiefs have long sought to learn from mistakes made by the music industry in the digital realm, and handling Steve Jobs must be near the top of their list. With one possible exception--Disney. The Magic Kingdom has already made a deal with Apple to offer such ABC television hits as "Desperate Housewives." If Disney is seeking to curry favor with Jobs, it would make perfect sense: The company has a new CEO, Robert Iger, who ostensibly could mend some of the fences dismantled during high-profile conflicts between predecessor Michael Eisner and the Apple chief. A rapprochement at this juncture could resurrect the powerful alliance between Jobs' Pixar and Disney to create more blockbuster animated films. So even though some Hollywood executives have privately voiced concerns about security, revenue relationships and other aspects of Apple's video services, Disney may well believe that the potential gains are worth any risks. |
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KIPP
Academy math instructor wins 2005 Walt Disney teacher award
KIPP Academy math teacher Frank Corcoran would do the late, great Walt Disney proud. While the latter of the two men built the world's greatest animation and theme park company, they both share one unique common thread: They make dreams come true through their creative worlds of fun. That's why Corcoran was selected by the Walt Disney Company as one of 45 instructors around the country to receive its 2005 Teacher Award for creativity last month. During the summer, Corcoran headed to California and Disney Land to receive the honor. He decided to take some of his students from the East 156th Street School with him on the trip. "It was amazing," said Corcoran, who lives on the Grand Concourse, between 164th and 165th streets. "I was really surprised. I never thought I would be nominated, and I never thought I would be placed on that kind of level with other great teachers." Corcoran, who was nominated by one of his former students for the honor, said the Disney Company treated the teachers to free passes to its theme park and a host of other special events, including parades through the parks. The 37-year-old teacher will be heading back to Disney in October — this time in Florida — when the company that made Mickey Mouse a household name puts Corcoran through professional teacher training classes to cultivate his talents further. Like Disney, Corcoran has a knack for making the magical seem possible. He built four restaurant booths with the help of students and installed them at the side of his classroom as "Corcoran's Math Café," as the bright neon sign reads from above. The booths also have signs that invite his seventh and eighth grade algebra students to "try the pi" — a play on words off the math algebraic term. "I wanted to make a comfortable environment for my students where they aren't afraid to learn," said Corcoran, who was born in Newport, Rhode Island and graduated from Notre Dame University with a Bachelor of Arts in history. Corcoran uses his math café to do group assignments and also to provide the students with a "safe place" to do their homework after school. "They could even come by and play chess," he added. The second youngest of seven children, Corcoran was raised in a strong Irish Catholic family where his father was a lawyer and his mother was a hardworking housewife, he said. Corcoran thought about becoming a lawyer himself. But decided to join Teach for America — a national program that places young teachers across the country while they go to school at night and work toward their secondary degrees — when he graduated from college. He taught in Houston for four years when he was only required to instruct two. Corcoran began teaching math in 1996 and his innovate strategies were immediately embraced by students. He uses "The Flintstones" theme song to help kids remember basic math concepts. He also rewrote some other jingles with math concepts in place of the music lyrics, including "The Addams Family" and "I Dream of Genie." The results are music to the ears of parents and school administrators. Last year, 80% of Corcoran's eighth grade algebra class scored 65% or higher on the New York State Regents math A exam, which is often given at the high school level to ninth or tenth graders. Corcoran also has a "Wall of Fame" where he framed many of his former students' pictures with their solid test scores on the Regents below. He also has a "Wheel of Corcoran," which he spins to select a student to call upon so that his selections remain fair. "Frank embodies what it means to be a teacher — not just to children who are fortunate enough to be his students, but also to those colleagues who are fortunate enough to teach along side of him," said David Levin, superintendent of KIPP Academy, which has 46 locations throughout the country. Corcoran credits his growth as a teacher to the school, which operates Monday through Thursday, 7:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. and 7:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. on Fridays. "That's not the usual hours for a school," Corcoran said. "It's mandatory, but the students love it here." Students love the school and Mr. Corcoran, too. "I think Mr. Corcoran is the best teacher because he helps everyone with his or her problems outside and inside the classroom," said eighth grader Joann Rodriguez, who lives on East 169th Street. Corcoran will also be announced as the New York Post Educator Liberty Medal winner later this month. |
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SigmaTel
Provides the "Magic" Inside the New Disney Mix Stick
Player
SigmaTel, Inc. today announced that its portable audio system-on-chip (SoC) solution is powering the new Disney Mix Stick Player. Powered by the SigmaTel STMP35XX, the Disney Mix Stick plays MP3 and WMA audio files and can store both data and music files. The Mix Stick Player has 128 MBytes of built in memory, enough to hold about 60 songs, with the option to increase storage capacity to 1 GByte or about 500 songs with an add-on memory card. Launched on September 29, 2005 the Disney Mix Stick Player is easily portable and creatively designed for young children and tweens and provides up to 8-hours of continuous music playback. Digital music can be downloaded onto the Mix Stick Player using standard music downloading software or children can listen to their favorite music without having to have a PC using a Disney Mix Clip. The Disney Mix Stick Players are available in four models and include stereo earbuds, rechargeable lithium battery, lanyard with safety release and Microsoft Windows® Media software. Disney also offers the Disney Jam Stand allowing kids to play music with hi-fi stereo sound from their Disney Mix Stick player while re-charging its battery. SigmaTel's portable audio SoC solutions provide high quality audio playback for portable devices such as MP3 players, language learners, and jukeboxes. The company's solutions offer market-leading benefits, including as much as a 30% lower bill of material costs, Hi-Speed USB 2.0, 50 hours of battery life on a single AA battery and incredibly small form factor designs as small as 14.5cm². With flexible software support and upgrade options, the SigmaTel SoC solution offers support for MP3 and WMA audio format algorithms as well as security in WMA DRM. |
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Hong
Kong govt may be asked for funds for proposed Disneyland
expansion
The
government may be asked for funds to finance the proposed
expansion of Hong Kong Disneyland if revenues from the theme
park's operations and alternative funding sources are
insufficient to meet the capital outlay, said Secretary for
Economic Development and Labor Stephen Ip. |
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Disney
'to film Zappa son's book'
Disney and Bruckheimer have paid $1.5m (£860,000) for the rights to Monstrous Memoirs of a Mighty McFearless, the Hollywood Reporter and Variety said. Zappa wrote and illustrated the book about a brother and sister who have to rescue their father from monsters. It will be published next August, according to the reports. Ahmet Zappa is the third of Frank Zappa's four children. His three siblings are Moon Unit, Dweezil, and Diva Muffin. "I wrote the book for kids, and all these grown-ups are telling me they enjoyed it," he told Variety. Ahmet Zappa is married to actress Selma Blair and is a musician, writer and actor. A European tour playing his father's music with Dweezil had been due to start later this month, but has been postponed. |
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Disney-ABC
TV Group Restructures Communications Division
Kevin
Brockman, the senior VP of communications at the Disney-ABC
Television Group, has announced a new structure for his
department, which will now be divided into six divisions:
Entertainment Communications, Communications Resources, Kids
Communications, News Communications, Corporate Communications
and International Communications.
The
senior executives overseeing these six areas will all report
directly to Brockman. “In assessing the department, we
looked for a more strategic and streamlined way to tap into
the expertise that exists in the group, and I believe this new
structure achieves just that,” he said. “While each
channel and network daypart
retains a senior executive responsible for its day-to-day
communications strategy, we’ll now have an executive team
responsible for coordinating and enhancing those efforts as
well.” Nicole
Nichols, former VP of media relations at ABC Family, has been
promoted to senior VP of entertainment communications,
Disney-ABC Television Group, and is charged with overseeing
and coordinating the efforts of the communications division
heads for ABC Entertainment, Touchstone Television, ABC
Daytime, ABC Family and SOAPnet. Sharon
Williams, former VP of media relations at ABC Television
Network, has been promoted to senior VP of communications
resources at Disney-ABC Television Group. Patti
McTeague, former VP of media
relations at Disney-ABC Cable Networks Group, has been
promoted to VP of kids communications, overseeing
communication efforts for Disney Channel Worldwide, Toon
Disney, JETIX, Playhouse Disney, ABC Kids and Walt Disney TV
Animation. Jeffrey Schneider will remain VP of ABC News communications and Julie Hoover will continue to serve as VP of corporate communications. Siobhan Kenny, VP of branded television communications, EMEA, will assume the role of acting head of international communications. “The International Communications department is still undergoing some growth and change,” added Brockman, “and while this is occurring, Siobhan will oversee our efforts in this arena.” |
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"Little
Einsteins Halloween" Premieres Saturday, October 29 on
Disney Channel
A
Halloween episode of the new preschool series Little
Einsteins will premiere Saturday, October 29 (8:00 a.m.,
ET/PT) during Disney Channel's Playhouse Disney. |
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Disney
Italy Takes Icon Animation
Patricia
Hidalgo, the programming director at Walt Disney Television
Italia, commented, “We have been following development of
this series since its presentation in Cartoon Forum Varese
and acquisition by Disney Channel Spain. We
are very happy with the scripts, storylines and first animated
episode, we are certain it will be a very good addition to our
schedule as it will be very appealing to our girl audience
without excluding our boys as it deals with everyday teen
growing up issues that are common to both sexes in a
humoristic manner that both will be able to identify with.” Geared
to 8- to 12-year-old girls, the series was launched over the
weekend at MIPCOM Junior. Presales have been secured with Nickelodeon
Latin America, Disney Channel Spain, RCTV Venezuela and Animania
in the U.S.
“We’ve had tremendous interest in the show and are
delighted to have the Disney Channel Italy on board,” said Christophe
Goldberger, the head of distribution at Icon Animation.
“There is a place in the market for a girl’s property with
distinctive design and strong characterization and we are
confident that the series will be a great success with
audiences worldwide. We are looking forward to signing further
deals with broadcast and licensing partners over the coming
months.” The Flash series is a co-production of Icon Animation, Millimages, France 3, TV Catalunya and ETB. Icon Animation holds all distribution rights worldwide except for France, French-speaking Switzerland, Benelux, the U.K., Ireland, Iceland, Australia and New Zealand, which are held by Millimages. |
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Rediff's
TN Prabhu joins Walt Disney Internet Group
TN Prabhu, vice-president, strategy and planning, Rediff.com, has joined the Walt Disney Internet Group as director. Confirming this development to agency faqs!, Rajat Jain, managing director, Walt Disney Company (India), says, "With TN Prabhu on board, the operations of the Walt Disney Internet Group will now begin its operations in India. Prabhu possesses the required proficiency to generate new business opportunities. He will play an intrinsic role in identifying, structuring and executing new business opportunities with mobile operators, content aggregators, broadband ISPs, interactive gaming platforms and other prospective third party distributors." Prabhu, a management graduate from the Birla Institute of Technology and Science, Pilani, started his career with 'The Hindu' in 1989. He then went on to serve organizations such as International Data Corporation India, Cyber Media India Ltd, Cyberexpo, Ciol.com and The Times Internet. Jain adds, "Prabhu brings in a whole array of experience with him, especially of the markets in North and South India. In Disney, we emphasize technology as we believe it is the key ingredient for growth and prosperity. Prabhu's association with Disney will leverage our effort in exploring newer technologies to deliver our content and creativity in a better way." |
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Zoo
Digital wins Disney contract
ZOO Digital surged ahead today after the games publisher and DVD technology expert won a contract with Walt Disney. ZOOtech, the DVD technology division of Group, announced it has signed a contract with Walt Disney to license its unique DVD authoring software for the application of 'Menu Regionalization' for new and existing film titles. The group said the deal should start generating revenues for ZOO in excess of $1m over the next year. |
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Michael
Jackson's Mickey Mouse capers!
Former King of Pop Michael Jackson reportedly shocked hotel staff when he answered the door to his suite dressed as Mickey Mouse. Disguised as the giant cartoon character, the star reportedly showed a chambermaid into his room at London's swanky Dorchester Hotel, where the singer's children were jumping on the bed dressed as Peter Pan characters. . Jackson, 47, then removed his mask and apologized saying he and Prince Michael Jnr, eight, Paris, seven, and Prince Michael II, three, were enjoying a fancy dress party. . "The chambermaid got a real shock when Mickey Mouse answered the door. Michael was thrilled by her reaction, and then revealed himself and introduced her to his kids - dressed as Tinkerbell, Peter Pan and Captain Hook," an insider was quoted by Female first, as saying. Jackson, who once admitted Peter Pan was his idol had reportedly been enjoying a jelly and ice cream food fight with his young children. |
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Tuesday October 18, 2005 |
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Walt Disney Co. is in talks with the city of
Seoul to open a theme park near the South Korean capital,
according to news reports on Sept. 25, 2005.
The talks with the Seoul Metropolitan Government were still at an early stage, Reuters reported, citing an unidentified official at the city's investment division. Seoul Mayor Lee Myung Bak, who made attracting global business one of his campaign pledges in 2002, said the city has made "significant progress" on its plan to attract a theme park and that a decision would be announced early next year, Bloomberg News reported. Reuters said Burbank-based Disney is now conducting a viability study on a theme park in southern Seoul that is owned and operated by the municipal government. Once a popular attraction, Seoul Grand Park has since been eclipsed by newer competition. Disney is also considering whether the South Korean market is large enough to support investment for the park. South Korea has a population of 48.4 million. Earlier this year, Disney denied a South Korean media report it had reached a deal to build a theme park in Seoul, Reuters said. Disney opened a theme park in Hong Kong in September and is considering another park in Shanghai, but it's unlikely to open a second Chinese park before 2010. The entertainment giant also opened the first of two theme parks in Tokyo in 1983. Disney's four existing and proposed Asian theme parks are all within four hours flying time of Seoul, which could make it more difficult for South Korea to attract enough visitors to justify the building costs. |
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Disney
To Adopt Majority-Vote Standard For Directors
The board of Walt Disney Co., which faced a shareholder revolt last year, has voted to amend its corporate-governance guidelines to make it easier for shareholders to remove directors.
On Thursday, the Burbank media company said
that if shareholders withhold the majority of their votes
for a director, the director must offer his resignation. A
board committee will then recommend to the full board
whether the resignation should be accepted.
Shareholders chafing at the poor performance of the entertainment giant's stock withheld 45 percent of the votes for chairman and chief executive Michael Eisner at the 2004 annual meeting. As a result, Eisner relinquished the position of chairman and later announced he would step down as CEO later this year. Also Thursday, the Disney board added a provision to the company's bylaws that prohibits the buyback of any shares at above-market prices from any holder of more than 2 percent of Disney's voting shares, without shareholder approval. The change was a response to a shareholder proposal at the 2005 annual meeting. Disney has taken a number of actions over the last several years to step up its corporate governance controls. Disney also set annual terms for all board members, eliminated the "poison pill" takeover defense and required directors to own at least $100,000 in Disney stock. The latest governance changes came a week after a Delaware judge ruled that Disney directors upheld their fiduciary duty in the controversial hiring and firing of former President Michael Ovitz a decade ago. The judge, noting that events in the case took place before the recent drive to improve governance practices, rebuked the directors and said their conduct "fell significantly short of the best practices of ideal corporate governance." |
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Disney
Does Roaring Trade In Adult Apparel
Entertainment giant Disney says it has sold $200 million worth of upscale and adult clothing since 2003. |
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Open
Call! Radio Disney Kid Auditions
Radio Disney is looking for cool, fun, outgoing kids, to be part of the #1 radio station connecting families from coast to coast. We are looking for kids who can READ, act and sound great on the radio! Radio Disney will provide all audition material. Auditions are on a first come, first served basis and Radio Disney will audition as many kids as possible during the allotted time. Boys and girls 15 and under who would like to be part of the RADIO DISNEY team need to come to Cinemark 17 at 11819 Webb Chapel and LBJ in Dallas Texas Saturday morning at 8:30 AM. For more information call the Kid Audition Info Line @ 972-448-3397. |
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"The
Chronicles of Narnia" Disney MGM Studios Attraction Info
For Fans of C.S. Lewis' Timeless adventure
"The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch, and The
Wardrobe", the Disney-MGM Studios transforms a soundstage
into the frozen world of Narnia and takes guests behind the
scenes of the movie making of the epic film. |
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Coming
Soon, the Corporate Drama of Disney
A playwright by the name of John Morogiello
tells The Times he is researching a
"play/musical/opera" about the ex-Disney boss titled
"The Trials of Michael Eisner." And an opera would be the perfect setting.
No one could deny the power of such lyrics as: |
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Youngster
gets to meet Mickey, Minnie
When Christian Marlowe's wish to meet Mickey Mouse granted, he not only got to visit Disneyland, he got to be Oregon's ambassador to the Magic Kingdom. Two weeks ago, 5-year-old Christian was one of 75 "wish kids" who helped the Make-a-Wish Foundation celebrate its 25th anniversary at Disneyland. In fact, Christian, who lives in Greenacres with his parents, Alex and Lizette; and his 7-year-old brother, Anthony, was the recipient of the 50,000th wish granted by the theme park. "He had a great time. It'll be a memorable event in his life," said Alex Marlowe, who buys and renovates houses for resale. During Disneyland's celebration of the anniversary, Christian got to meet Mickey, who showed him around his home and introduced him to Minnie Mouse. He also got to ride in a parade with Aladdin and met Goofy and Donald Duck, all of it caught on film by his parents as well as Disneyland staff. "It was just party after party every day," Lizette Marlowe said. "His favorite part was the confetti. He had a lot of fun throwing confetti at the cameramen." The entire trip was paid for the Make-a-Wish Foundation, which grants wishes for children with life-threatening medical conditions. Christian was diagnosed on Feb. 14 with Duchenne muscular dystrophy, a variety of the disease that attacks boys at an early age. Every six months, his parents take him to Portland for treatment at the Shriners Hospital, where he is examined by a geneticist and a team of medical researchers. The Marlowes were referred to Make-a-Wish by Christian's aunt, who e-mailed the organization the family would be good potential candidates. After being screened, the Marlowes met with two Make-a-Wish representatives, who asked Christian what wishes he might have. "He said he'd like a big swing set," said Alex Marlowe, "and he'd like to meet Mickey Mouse." "After the news of the diagnosis, we were pretty devastated," Alex Marlowe said "Our faith is what gets us through. Because none of us knows what the future holds." Lizette Marlowe is certain of Christian's future, though. "I believe that Jesus Christ is the son of God and that he can heal our son," she said. "My son has a bright future, I believe in that." |
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TF1
in multi-year contract extension with Disney's Buena Vista
TF1 said it and
Walt Disney Co unit Buena Vista Entertainment have agreed a
multi-year renewal of a contract whereby TF1 will broadcast in
France a range of the US company's films, series and
children's programs. |
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Tarzan
Special Edition
Swing into action and adventure with Disney's classic animated masterpiece, TARZAN, packed with fun-filled bonus features and soaring, unforgettable music including "Trashin' The Camp" and the Academy-Award winning "You'll Be In My Heart" (Best Original Song, 1999). |
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This SPECIAL EDITION features the new "Terk's
Tree Surfing Challenge," which includes three games.
There is the all-new music video "Strangers Like Me"
performed by Everlife; a new Disneypedia featurette on
"Living In The Jungle;" plus deleted scenes
including an alternate opening, filmmaker's audio commentary,
and music videos featuring Phil Collins and 'N Sync.
Disney's magnificent animated adaptation of Edgar Rice Burrough's famous story of the legendary ape man begins deep within the jungle when baby Tarzan is adopted by a family of gorillas. Even though he is shunned as a "hairless wonder" by their leader, Tarzan is accepted by the gorillas and raised as one of their own. Together with his wisecracking ape buddy Terk and neurotic elephant pal Tantor, Tarzan learns how to "surf" and swing through the trees and survive in the animal kingdom. His "two worlds" collide with the arrival of humans and the beautiful Jane, forcing Tarzan to choose between a "civilized" life and the life he knows and loves with his gorilla family. Filled with humor, heart and hilarious fun, TARZAN, is a timeless story of adventure. TARZAN features an all-star voice cast. Minnie Driver, Glenn Close, Rosie O'Donnell, Tony Goldwyn, Brian Blessed, Nigel Hawthorne, Lance Henriksen and Wayne Knight bring this classic story to life. |
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The
Emperor's New Groove The New Groove Edition
Get into the groove with Walt Disney's hilarious animated feature film THE EMPEROR'S NEW GROOVE, available in a special NEW GROOVE EDITION. This fast-paced comedy about finding the good in everyone features a distinctive musical beat with lyrics and music by the world famous Grammy Award-winning singer/songwriter, Sting. Included on the film's sensational soundtrack is the Academy Award nominated song "My Funny Friend and Me" (nominated Best Original Song 2000), with lyrics and music by Sting and music by David Hartley; the upbeat "Perfect World" performed by legendary musical artist Tom Jones, and a score by John Debney. |
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David Spade (TV's "Just Shoot Me") is
Emperor Kuzco, John Goodman ("O Brother Where Art
Thou") plays Pacha the noble peasant, multiple Tony,
Grammy and Emmy nominee Eartha Kitt ("Harriet the
Spy") is the wickedly delightful villainess Yzma, Patrick
Warburton (TV's "The Tick," "Seinfeld")
plays Yzma's sidekick Kronk, and Wendie Malick (TV's
"Just Shoot Me") is Pacha's steadfast wife, Chicha.
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This
Old Mouse
WALT DISNEY (DIS) is just the kind of company the Stock Screen column would normally take a pass on. It's too big, too complicated and too widely followed to be the kind of hidden bargain we like to sniff around for. And yet, a bargain is just what Disney seems to be at the moment. It turned up recently on our Three-Point Value screen. The most rigorous of our value screens, the Three-Point screen compares companies' share prices with three different measures on their financial statements: earnings, sales and cash flow. It does so to be triply sure that anomalies and one-time events aren't skewing the results. For example, a company that recently received a large lawsuit settlement might show up on a price/earnings screen, but wouldn't necessarily appear on a price/sales screen. The opposite would be the case for one that was cutting prices too aggressively, thereby driving sales at the expense of profits. A price/cash-flow screen, meanwhile, might boot companies that continually spend too much on investments and acquisitions, while sales- and earnings-based screens might let such companies slip by. By using all three valuation measures together, our Three-Point Value search seeks an optimal blend of relevance and reliability. Its results can prove profitable, and then some. Shares of engine maker Cummins (CMI) are now up 45%, vs. the Standard & Poor's 500 index's 10% gain, since we first featured them in a Three-Point Value screen back in May 2004 ("Diesel Power"). And they're up 13% compared to the index's 1% since their encore appearance in March ("The Little Engine Maker That Could"). Run our Three-Point Value search anytime you like — it's one of 20 or so preloaded searches on our stock screener. For details on the criteria see our recipe. Recently it produced a list of 10 survivors from a starting database of more than 9,000. Let's look at Disney. With a market value of $48 billion, Burbank, Calif.-based Disney is roughly the same size as Viacom (VIA.B), and a little more than half as big as Time Warner (TWX). Measured by sales, though, it's nearly half again as large as Viacom, and about three-quarters the size of Time Warner. Sales for the company are projected to hit $32.1 billion this year, up from $30.8 billion last year. About 41% of that should come from media networks, including ABC, ESPN, the Disney Channel and minority stakes in A&E, History Channel, E! Entertainment and Lifetime Channel. The Parks and Resorts business, which includes Disney theme parks in Florida, California, Paris, Hong Kong and Tokyo as well as a pair of cruise ships, is projected to bring in 28% of sales this year. Another 24% should come from studio entertainment. Walt Disney Pictures, Touchstone Pictures, Miramax Films and Buena Vista Home Entertainment are among the main contributors there. The rest of sales will come from consumer products like toys and games. The media and parks businesses are expected to produce all of the company's growth this year, offsetting losses in the studio and consumer-products businesses. ABC is enjoying momentum from three top-rated shows in "Lost," "Desperate Housewives" and "Grey's Anatomy" at the moment, along with strong DVD sales of the first two. And the parks are benefiting from the weak dollar luring European tourists. The studios are suffering from lower box-office receipts in general and a string of stinkers in particular, while the consumer-products division will take a hit from the sale last year of its Disney Stores, offset somewhat by licensing gains. In all, earnings per share for the company are projected to climb 18% this year to $1.29 and another 16% next year to $1.49 — an upbeat outlook, considering that shares have slid 14% year-to-date. Not that the company doesn't face challenges of the moment. TiVo (TIVO) style recorders threaten to cut into its advertising business, which makes up 30% of company sales. Pirates aim to profit from the shift to digitized formats and broadband delivery methods for Disney's intellectual properties. Terrorists could disrupt parks sales, either directly or through an overall dampening of tourism. And for a media conglomerate, Disney doesn't have a great reputation for integrating purchases seamlessly. ABC, for example, has just recently become a meaningful profit contributor, after about 10 years as a Disney property. But the encouraging signs overshadow the negative ones. New Chief Executive Bob Iger is getting good reviews for his stressing of accountability and decentralization, as well as his people skills — all shortcomings of former boss Michael Eisner. One of the company's most recent acquisitions is that of Salt Lake City-based Avalanche Software, whose games include "Tak," "Power of Juju" and "Dragonball Z Sagas: Evolution." Analysts say the company should prove immediately useful, helping Disney create titles based on forthcoming movies. But perhaps the two strongest cases to be made for Disney are that its content library is just waiting to be exploited by new distribution channels, and that its shares look cheap. "Competition among telcos, regional bell operating companies (RBOCs) and DBS [direct broadcast satellite] is just beginning to heat up," wrote Laura Martin, an analyst with Los Angeles-based research group Media Metrics, in an Oct. 6 note. "All content production companies benefit from this trend toward proliferating distribution alternatives. High-quality, branded, globally scalable content like Disney's is the most valuable." (Martin doesn't own shares of Disney; Media Metrics doesn't do investment banking.) Disney makes our list today because its P/E, P/S and P/CF ratios are each in the bottom quartile for the media industry. Martin used no less than seven valuation methods in her recent analysis of the company. All pointed toward the stock being cheap. Two, in particular, caught our attention. One used the EV/Ebitda ratio, which forms the basis for our Takeover Targets screen. Martin called Disney's 2006 EV/Ebitda ratio of 8.0 "one of the lowest of the companies we cover." She also used a sort of backward version of our Price Check calculator, which is based on discounted cash flow analysis. Our calculator uses growth forecasts and other information to come up with a reasonable current share price. Martin used the current share price to come up with the growth rate it implies: "DIS must achieve a 10-year Ebitda [earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization] compound annual growth rate of only 3.9% to justify its current share price. This is well below company estimates, and seems conservative to us." |
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TV
Downloads May Undercut ABC Stations
Apple's release of TV content through the iTunes Music Store "may have helped open a Pandora's box for the media business" Apple and ABC parent company Disney "have taken a potentially significant step in the dismantling of a decades-old system for distributing TV programming to viewers." With that move, the reports posit that there could be "profound long-term consequences for broadcasters, cable systems and satellite companies if more users download shows instead of watching them the old-fashioned way." In fact, they note, Leon Long, who runs an association that represents ABC's affiliates, on Friday issued a letter to ABC network president Alex Wallau that "expressed misgivings about the partnership ... ABC affiliates are concerned that they weren't given an opportunity for financial participation in a new form of distributing shows that derives value through the promotion and broadcasting of affiliates." The Wall Street Journal received a copy of the letter and noted that part of it says: "It is both disappointing and unsettling that ABC would embark on a new -- and competitive -- network program distribution partnership without the fundamental courtesy of consultation" with its affiliates. Mr. Wallau and Mr. Long declined to comment on the letter's content, but the former said he would respond to ABC's affiliates this week. Already, the Hollywood unions representing writers, producers, directors and actors have said that they expect royalties from this new revenue stream. Writers Guild of America West president Patric Verrone told The Wall Street Journal that the deal between Apple and Disney should fall under guidelines covering video-on-demand and other pay TV formats. In addition, the Apple-Disney partnership could upset such cable companies as Comcast, which already offers video-on-demand of certain TV shows at no extra cost. Comcast has been trying to add Desperate Housewives to that line-up, according to The Wall Street Journal, but was apparently having trouble because of the lack of additional revenue to offer. Long-term, the The Wall Street Journal reporters note, all this new technology will kill "appointment viewing," the term TV networks coined to describe the phenomenon of viewers staying home to watch shows at specific times. It also spells trouble for TV advertising, given the fact that the iTunes offerings are ad-free. |
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Euro Disney S.C.A. has announced with a press release that it entered into new talks with the union representatives of the Cast members of the Disneyland Resort Paris as of October 12. Negotiations are expected to last several months since they cover a wide array of subjects from "workforce management" (work time) to the "annual salary plan". The management hopes to reach a "mutual acceptable result".The union CFDT representing Cast members of the Resort reacted with its own press release dated October 18, pointing out that the opening of talks were surprising to them. They expect that management tries to realize among others two main objectives: more flexible work times and lower wages - both most probably would have to be seen in connection with what according to so far only rumors was an underperforming summer season in which the attendance goals were not met. According to the CFDT it had been informed about the opening of negotiations about the topic "work time" earlier during on going negotiations about medical coverage for CMs (the according contract will expire December 31, 2005). |
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Disney
Deal Paves Way For Mobile Media
Last night's episode of Desperate Housewives playing on your iPod for $1.99. Believe it or not, that's what's being hailed as the next big step in digital media. The Walt Disney Co. agreed last week to make five of its current prime-time TV shows — including the hit series Desperate Housewives and Lost — available for download to a new video-ready iPod from Apple Computer Inc. The shows will be available on Apple's iTunes service 24 hours after they are first broadcast, but only at the native 320 x 240-pixel resolution of the new iPod. Systems makers like Apple face a general lack of content and a fragmented market for an emerging class of mobile video systems — realities that were reflected in last week's deal. Indeed, even Apple chief executive Steve Jobs' own studio, Pixar Animation — the only other studio besides Disney to support the video iPod at this point — is contributing just six animated shorts. The iTunes site will also provide about 2,000 music videos for download at the 320 x 240 resolution. Taking an upbeat stance, analysts said the Disney deal forms a template other TV studios will follow. "The most important things are that these are the top two TV shows, and they have set the bar at $1.99 per episode," said Van Baker, a consumer analyst for Gartner Dataquest here. Don MacDonald, vice president of Intel Corp.'s consumer division, said Disney is creating a new business model, wedged between broadcast advertising and boxed DVD sales of a series season. "This is a huge step forward in demonstrating confidence in online distribution by the studios," he said. Disney and Apple executives were naturally enthusiastic. "This is the first giant step to making content available to more people in more places," said Disney chief executive Robert Iger. Apple's Jobs said, "Sometimes the first step is the hardest one, and we have just taken it." Jobs positioned the new iPod with its 2.5-inch TFT-LCD screen as "first and foremost a music player," with video as one of its extra features. Fragmented market Barely 100,000 portable media players have shipped so far from companies like Archos, Creative Labs, Thomson and others, said Josh Martin, who tracks the sector for IDC. Lack of content is the top issue for hard-disk-based devices. Studios like Viacom are just starting to offer their MTV, VH-1 and other prime-time video programs online for PC users, but they haven't made significant inroads in video for portable devices yet. The iPods come with a 30- or 60-Gbyte hard drive. They use Apple's Quicktime to decode H.264-encoded video at 30 frames/second. The players are being offered for $299 and $399, respectively. |
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Disney
goes bling
The marketing of Mickey Mouse and his friends is getting curiouser and curiouser. The Walt Disney Co. is taking consumers down the rabbit hole to a land where crystal-studded Mickey Mouse T-shirts cost $US1400, Tinkerbell earrings run $US630, and a Cheshire Cat wrap sells for $US500 - and consumers are gladly paying. Disney's consumer division, better known for peddling kid-oriented fashions at Wal-Mart in the US, has been cashing in on a hot trend in haute couture for vintage art. The company has sold $US200 million in high-end and adult apparel featuring classic images of Mickey Mouse and his cartoon friends since 2003, and says it sees no sign that interest is flagging. This year, Disney positioned itself for the first time as a fashion player, hosting previews of its Alice In Wonderland-inspired lines of clothing, home decor and accessories at two star-studded events during Fashion Week in Los Angeles. Andy Mooney, chairman of consumer products, started Disney couture about five years ago after walking through the company's archives with Disney historian Dave Smith and finding a treasure trove of images - some of which have never been seen. He offered licences for the classic studio art to fashion designers in hopes of adding vogue to the middle-class brand. "With a lot of the higher-end items, we were trying to spread goodwill," Mooney told Reuters. "We did start this with the notion of it being a brand enhancer but it has turned out to be quite a healthy business." The key to Disney's success as a luxury brand comes mainly from its association with brands that already have cachet, said Milton Pedraza, chief executive of the Luxury Institute, a research group that focuses on America's wealthy. "I think it's just a pendulum swinging back to the classics, and Disney is a true American and global classic," Pedraza said. "To the extent they license to other luxury brands they can be successful. Disney alone would not be as powerful." Designer Jackie Brander was among the first to license vintage Mickey drawings for her chic boutique in the trendy Fred Segal store in Santa Monica, California. Dolce & Gabbana followed with a crystal-studded Mickey T-shirt, which sold in the shops for $US1400 and flew off shelves. Disney moved into home decor and accessories this year after seeing references to its 1951 animated classic, Alice In Wonderland, appear in the pages of fashion magazines and on TV - notably in a Gwen Stefani music video in spring 2005. "When that begins to happen you just have to pay attention to the call of what's going on in society," Dennis Green, senior vice president of marketing for consumer products, said at the company's Mad Hatter Tea Party on Sunday. The targets of the new campaign, Green said, are luxury-loving teen-agers and young adults in New York, Los Angeles, London and Tokyo who "are driving the fashion industry all over the world." "If we did national TV ads going after teenagers, they would turn us off. They would think we were uncool," he said. "Teenagers have to discover the product. (Then) they tell their friends and it grows through a grass roots marketing effort" that Disney could never have developed on its own, he noted. Disney has licensed Alice and other Wonderland characters from studio art done by Mary Blair and David Hall for lines of fabric, tableware, carpet tiles, decorative pillows and throws, jewellery and clothing. It has hired Kidada Jones, daughter of music legend Quincy Jones to design a line of jewellery, cashmere throws and pillows, and to dress her celebrity friends in the posh items. The Alice line will appear in high-end US shops such as Fred Segal, Drexel Heritage, Zelen, and specialty retailers starting next spring. |
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Monday October 17, 2005 |
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Martin Bashir, Cynthia McFadden, and Terry
Moran have been named co-anchors of "Nightline," ABC
News President David Westin announced today.
The three will assume anchor duties Monday, Nov. 28, with Moran in Washington and McFadden and Bashir in New York. McFadden will continue to anchor and report for ABC News "Primetime," where she has had a role since 1996, and Bashir, who joined ABC in 2004, will continue to report for the news magazine "20/20." Expanding its format to multiple news topics each night, "Nightline" will be produced live from its studios in Washington and ABC's Times Square Studios in New York. Ted Koppel, who has been anchoring the program since its inception in 1980, departs ABC on Nov. 22 after 42 years at the network. "Building on the great legacy of 'Nightline' as we go forward to the next era is both a challenge and an exciting opportunity. Cynthia McFadden, Martin Bashir, and Terry Moran bring the combination of intelligence, experience, and perspective that can ensure that Nightline's future is every bit as bright as its past," Westin said. "I am delighted and honored to be working with such an accomplished team of journalists," said "Nightline" executive producer James Goldston. "These are three of the most talented journalists working in television. They will bring an incisive and distinctive edge to our journalism in the great tradition of 'Nightline'." Moran, ABC News' Chief White House Correspondent since 1999, is currently the anchor of "World News Tonight Sunday." As White House correspondent, he reports on all aspects of the Bush administration for ABC News platforms and has traveled widely covering President Bush's domestic and foreign trips. As a key member of the ABC team covering the events of Sept. 11, Moran has continued to report on all aspects of the war on terror, and in November 2003 he traveled to Baghdad to report on the U.S.-led occupation and the insurgency against it. In covering Vice President Al Gore's presidential campaign, Moran also reported on the subsequent legal battle for the White House. McFadden joined ABC News in February 1994 as the network's legal correspondent and two years later was named a correspondent for "Prime Time Live," for which she has been a co-anchor since September 2004. Throughout her tenure at ABC, McFadden has reported several breaking stories, including a firsthand look at the process leading up to a man's execution on Louisiana's death row, and just this month two reports for "Nightline" on the U.S. government's attempts to secure loose nuclear materials and weapons domestically and abroad. In the wake of the London bombings last July, McFadden traveled to Pakistan for an exclusive interview with President Musharraf, which aired on "Nightline" and other ABC News platforms. For "Primetime," also last summer, she reported and anchored on the lives of children in America with a groundbreaking documentary on the phenomenon of grandmothers raising their grandchildren. Bashir joined ABC in September 2004 as a correspondent for "20/20" for which he has reported international news-breaking stories, including the investigation of BALCO founder Victor Conte. He is also well-known for the landmark documentary "Living with Michael Jackson" and other investigative reports for the BBC and ITV in Britain, including an in-depth investigation of one of Britain's most notorious, racially motivated murders. His many honors include a BAFTA Award and two Royal Television Society Program of the Year awards. |
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Iger's
Contract Shows an Educated Disney Board: Graef Crystal
The new employment agreement extended to Robert Iger, the incoming chief executive officer of Walt Disney Co., is an example of ``lessons learned.'' The contract shows that Disney's board has profited from quite a few -- but not all -- of the painful shocks it was forced to endure during the eras of Michael Eisner, and most especially, Michael Ovitz. Before I get into the good and bad parts of Iger's contract, the main thing about it is this: In comparison with Eisner, Iger has a cushy base salary and much smaller equity awards. And maybe it's appropriate to have a lower-risk, lower-reward pay package for a company that, today, is as immense as Disney. For my part, I have a certain fondness for Eisner's swashbuckling ways because he was willing to embrace the risk that was deliberately designed into his pay arrangements. I know that because as an occasional consultant to Disney's compensation committee (an engagement which ended in September 1996), I had a hand in designing Eisner's pay package. First, the good features of this new employment agreement: -- It covers a five-year period. Michael Eisner was accustomed to receiving 10-year contracts. In this era of rapid change, a 10-year guarantee of employment is simply too long. `Target' Bonus -- Iger will receive a ``target'' bonus of $7.25 million a year, hypothetically paid in a year of good but not great performance. Eisner's target bonus was approximately $10 million. -- Iger has been promised each year equity grants that have will have a value of at least four times his salary, or, at his current $2 million a year salary rate, $8 million. The way I read the agreement, that means he could, among other things, receive free shares worth $8 million or that number of stock option shares that had an estimated present value at grant of the same $8 million. That is way down from what Eisner got. In his last contract, which took effect on Sept. 1, 1996, he received options covering 24 million split-adjusted shares that Disney said had an aggregate present value at grant of $196 million. Given that the contract was for 10 years, that grant worked out to about $20 million a year or 2-1/2 times that promised to Iger. It's worth noting that 9 million option shares in the 1996 grant are, nine years later, still under water. That's because their strike prices were set as high as 200 percent of Disney's then-market price. Contingent Award -- Iger was also given a one-time contingent award covering 500,000 free shares of Disney stock worth $12.1 million at the time of the grant. To earn that, Disney's total return has to equal or beat that of the Standard & Poor's 500 Index over periods ranging from three to as long as five years. Iger also has to remain with the company during the entire period and to meet at least one other performance criterion to be established by the Disney board. Most economists favor predicating long-term pay on relative stock price performance, and not absolute stock price performance. -- If Iger is terminated for other than cause, his cash severance is limited to two times his salary and bonus. That provision would have helped a lot in the Ovitz termination, because having had his employment terminated after about 15 months, Disney had to pay him his salary and $7.5 million target bonus for the remainder of his five-year contract. Payouts and Termination -- If Iger is terminated for other than cause, he doesn't automatically and immediately vest in his equity awards. That happens only when they would have vested had Iger remained with Disney until the next normal vesting date. And if there are performance conditions attached, as with the 500,000-share grant, they remain. Also, a haircut is given based on the percentage of the five-year term that Iger actually worked. That's a far cry from what happened with Ovitz, where on the date of his firing, 9 million split-adjusted option shares, which at the time weren't vested, became immediately vested. Later, Ovitz reaped gains of about $70 million from those shares. The Bad Features So much for the good features. Here are some bad ones. -- Iger's base salary of $2 million a year is twice what Eisner was earning at the end of his tenure. And unless Iger chooses to defer half his salary until right after he leaves the company, that portion of his salary won't be deductible to the company, thereby costing the shareholders some extra money. -- There are problems aplenty with the 500,000-share performance grant. The big question is why it was made in the first place. It is often the case that a large up-front equity grant has to be made to a CEO coming in from the outside. The argument here is that you need to open the throttles wide on the 747 to get it to overcome the friction of the runway; once it's airborne, you can throttle back. But Iger isn't coming in from the outside. He has plenty of equity incentives remaining from his earlier years at Disney, first as head of the ABC television network and more recently as Disney's chief operating officer. Among other things, he had, as of Sept. 30, 2004, 5.6 million option shares outstanding. Earn-Out Flaw -- The earn-out provisions contain a design flaw known in the trade as a go/no-go feature. Vesting occurs if Disney exactly equals the S&P 500 performance, but the award is forfeited if Disney underperforms the index by 0.01 points. That's a lot of money hanging on so little change in relative performance. A better approach would have been to start vesting a few shares once Disney's total return began to surpass that of the S&P 500 and then implement a sliding scale that would vest all the shares when Disney's return exceeded that of the index by, say, 500 basis points. -- Iger has been given three tries to beat the index. For example, 60 percent of his 500,000 shares ride on Disney's relative return for the three-year period ending Sept. 30, 2008. Even if Disney underperforms the index, those same shares can again be earned based on the four-year return for the period ending Sept. 30, 2009. And if that doesn't work, they can be earned for the five-year period ending Sept. 30, 2010. Normal market volatility, which has little to do with real performance, can be a big help when you are given those three bites. -- Finally, the agreement contains some of the most contorted legal language I have ever read. I figure that the contract was originally written in English, then translated into Czech, then from there into Mandarin Chinese and finally back to English. They say you can't teach an elephant to dance. But Disney's board, this time out, shows it can do a passable foxtrot. Someday, the tango. |
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Disney
speeds after Nascar
The New York Times reported that Disney will soon announce the deal to show the races from July through November on its ESPN cable sports network and its ABC broadcast network. The races are now shown on NBC, a unit of General Electric Co.and TNT, a unit of Time Warner CNN/Money is also a Time Warner unit. Ramsey Poston, a Nascar spokesman, would not comment to the paper on any possible agreement in principle with ESPN and ABC. "No deal is done," he told the Times. "If and when there is news, we will announce it." ESPN spokesman Chris LaPlaca also would not comment on a possible deal, although he told the paper "We've said for a long time that if an opportunity presented itself to have a conversation with Nascar, we'd be glad to oblige." Nascar is second only to the National Football League in terms of television viewership, although the second half of the season has traditionally trailed the first half as the last few months have to go up against football broadcasts on most weekends. The six-year ESPN-ABC deal is worth an estimated $280 million annually starting with the 2007 season and lasting through 2012, executives familiar with talks told the paper. That's 40 percent more than the $200 million a year that the NBC-TNT joint venture has paid since 2001. NBC had an exclusive period of negotiations through the end of the year but chose earlier this month not to pursue a renewal because of the financial losses it incurred during its five seasons televising Nascar and demands for higher rights fees from Nascar, according to the Times report. It added that by waiving its right to exclusive talks with Nascar, NBC opened the door for talks to accelerate with ESPN and ABC. NBC has been willing to walk away from a number of high-priced sports rights deals in recent years rather than incur steep losses. It gave up rights to the National Basketball Association after the 2001-02 season and Major League Baseball after the 2000 season. But after dropping the NFL following the 1997 season, the network agreed earlier this year to pay $600 million annually to start broadcasting Sunday night NFL games starting in 2006. Meanwhile Disney saw its inventory of NFL games fall by half, as the Sunday night game now shown on ESPN moves to NBC next year and Monday Night Football shifts to ESPN from ABC starting in 2006. The shift left Disney with a hole in its Sunday sports schedule in the fall. Fox, a unit of News Corp., also pays $200 million a year in a deal with Nascar that runs through 2008. It gets the first half of the season, although it alternates years that it broadcasts the season-opening Daytona 500, the sports' best-rated race. The company said in a 2002 filing that it expected losses of $297 million from its deal with Nascar through 2008. In 2004, in an effort to improve the popularity of the season's last 10 races that compete directly with football broadcasts, Nascar instituted the "Chase for the Nextel Cup," a playoff-like system in which the sports' top 10 drivers in the season all have a chance to win the season point title. The change resulted in a 12 percent increase in ratings for the chase races, compared to the last 10 races of 2003, but the average ratings for those races still trailed the ratings for the first 26 races of the year. |
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Disney
Cruise Line Spooky Ships Set Sail This Halloween
Disney Cruise Line Guests are in for a
"scary good time at sea" this Halloween. Both ships
will host a spook-tacular celebration during two sailings in
October. With themed events for all ages and trick-or-treating
throughout the ship, Guests are encouraged to bring along
their costumes and join in the fun. Planned activities include
costume contests for everyone, family "scary-oke,"a
special costume party for the teens and an 80's Halloween Bash
for the adults. There are even traditional themed movies
showing at the Buena Vista Theatre, along with
"spider" cup cakes and a "witch's brew"
drink of the day in the dining rooms. |
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George Bodenheimer, ESPN and ABC Sports
President and co-chairman of Disney Media Networks, announced
today, effective immediately, the reorganization of ESPN's
business functions and executive management into six specific
areas to pursue the company's primary mission to serve sports
fans and for future growth: content, technology, sales and
marketing, international, finance and administration.
The executive management team reporting to Bodenheimer includes John Skipper, who has been promoted to Executive Vice President, Content; Chuck Pagano, promoted to Executive Vice President, Technology; Sean Bratches, promoted to Executive Vice President, Sales and Marketing; and continuing in their roles, Christine Driessen, Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer; Ed Durso, Executive Vice President, Administration; and Russell Wolff, Executive Vice President and Managing Director, ESPN International. "Changes in our management ranks presented an opportunity to redefine our structure," said Bodenheimer. "Aggregating all our creative energies in one division; placing all sales and marketing in one area to sell our growing menu of services; consolidating oversight of all technology; and affirming the centralized management of all international businesses are powerful statements. I'm excited about the prospects of this realignment and the people leading these areas. Not only does this reaffirm ESPN as the leading sports media entity, it will strengthen our commitment to serving sports fans." John Skipper, Executive Vice President,
Content
Sean Bratches, Executive Vice President,
Sales and Marketing
Russell Wolff will continue in his current role of Executive Vice President and Managing Director, ESPN International. Wolff, along with the support of Driessen, has led initiatives around the world increasing the financial success of ESPN's international operations. Wolff, who joined ESPN in 1997 managing ESPN's business interests in the Pacific Rim, is responsible for all of ESPN's international business initiatives across television, radio, publishing, wireless, broadband, and ESPN Enterprises operations. Christine Driessen, Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, will continue to oversee all of the company's financial operations, including financial and program planning, strategic development, and office of the controller. Driessen joined ESPN in 1985. Ed Durso, Executive Vice President, Administration, will continue to oversee legal and government affairs, communications, facilities, human resources and security. Durso joined ESPN in 1989. |
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ABC
is looking for a cheap date for Saturday night
The state of network television on Saturday nights has become so dire that ABC has essentially put a prime-time slot up for auction to anyone who has a compelling idea — as long as it's done very cheaply. ABC has put the word out to Hollywood producers that a Saturday night home is available to a program that can be made for no more than $500,000 an episode, which is about a quarter of what the traditional comedy or drama costs. "Because it's Saturday night, they're willing to try things that they wouldn't try at midweek," said Jeff Bader, ABC's head of scheduling. Saturday has become the forgotten night for broadcasters, who aren't entirely sure what to do there anymore. They just know it's not worth spending much to seek an audience that clearly has other plans. "It's the loneliest night of the week for network television and television in general," said Mitch Metcalf, NBC's executive vice president for scheduling. Except for occasional specials, CBS's 48 Hours Mysteries is the only original Saturday night program on ABC, CBS and NBC this season. Fox has run COPS and America's Most Wanted on Saturday for years; the WB and UPN don't broadcast. Viewers with long memories know it wasn't always this way. Gunsmoke, Perry Mason, Mission: Impossible, Love Boat, Fantasy Island, Golden Girls and Touched By an Angel are among the classic series shown on Saturdays. You could make a strong argument that during the early 1970s, CBS on Saturday night had the single best night of prime-time TV ever: All in the Family, M*A*S*H, The Mary Tyler Moore Show, The Bob Newhart Show and The Carol Burnett Show. Saturday night — date night — was never the most popular night for TV. But the decline in Saturday viewership caught momentum with the advent of cable television, particularly when HBO scheduled its showcase movies then. The popularity of home videos and DVDs gave viewers still more options, said David Poltrack, chief researcher at CBS. Since 2000, Saturday night network TV viewership has dropped 39 percent, compared to 16 percent for the seven nights in total, according to Nielsen Media Research. So far this season, the four networks combined average 23.1 million viewers on Saturday, or less than a typical episode of CSI: Crime Scene Investigation or Desperate Housewives get on other nights. Along with viewers, advertisers who are increasingly adept at targeting an audience are shying away from Saturdays, Metcalf said. "They want to get their messages out before the weekend starts, before people make their purchasing decisions for the weekend," he said. "By Saturday, that ship has sailed." Lately, it's a classic chicken-or-egg argument: Are the viewers fleeing because the networks aren't offering much, or are the networks abandoning Saturdays because they sense viewers' lack of interest? Networks began dialing back early this decade. Saturday became "movie night," but even that rarely works because people are impatient watching movies clogged with commercials. With shows like The District and Hack, CBS bragged two years ago that it was the only network still in business on Saturday, but that didn't last. Now it's mostly reruns. "I'd like to think we all tried," said Kelly Kahl, head of CBS's scheduling department. "We held out probably a little longer. But the choices at some point just become overwhelming." CBS wraps its reruns in a nice bow: two hours it calls "Crimetime Saturday." It airs episodes of procedural dramas like CSI: Crime Scene Investigation and gets about the same modest ratings as it did with original shows, and even does better among young viewers, Poltrack said. As a result, the network now makes a nice profit on a night where it used to lose money. Besides movies and NASCAR races, NBC has found Saturday to be a comfortable home for its Law & Order franchise. This year it has taken a cue from HBO and is using the night to give viewers a second chance to catch on with its new series. A week ago, NBC ran three straight episodes of My Name is Earl, and has also showcased Surface. "People's lives are so busy and there are so many new shows to watch," Metcalf said. "They key is to pick shows that are showing signs of growth, or that people are talking about and there are good reviews." For the past few weeks, ABC has given fans of Lost a second chance to keep up with that story. It has also aired repeats of Invasion and Commander in Chief. A combination of movies and repeats will fill out the season, Bader said. As the force behind Saturday's island of original programming, 48 Hours Mysteries executive producer Susan Zirinsky said she's happy to be scheduled there. How many times, she said, have you been home on a Saturday night and surfed aimlessly through the channels looking for something new? "We're promising a fresh apple pie at 10 o'clock," she said. She's also experimenting with new storytelling approaches. Often, the first five minutes of her show — which usually feature true-crime mysteries — don't feature reporters or any indication that its a news program. The idea is to hook viewers on stories compatible with the dramas they've just been watching. Experimentation, along the lines of what ABC is planning, might be the only other recourse on Saturday nights. Why can't the networks try out pilots of new shows, even ones executives have rejected, to see if something draws some interest? ABC has set no boundaries for the suggestions it seeks: the shows could be reality, scripted, news, sports, whatever, Bader said. "We use the summer to experiment," he said. "Well, Saturday can be our summer every week." |
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Incredibles:
Rise of the Underminer Playstation 2
Mr Incredible and Frozone return to non-stop action in the new video game Disney presents a Pixar film, The Incredibles: Rise of the Underminer. The game begins at the film's conclusion - Underminer's threatening emergence to wreak havoc on the residents of Metroville. Players battle the Underminer and his robot minions in the vast underground world built by this diabolical genius. It is up to Mr Incredible and Frozone to once again save the day. Are you super enough? Features:
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For years, one of the worst kept secrets in business was the extraordinary lengths that CEOs had to go to in order to be terminated “for cause,” and thus forfeit their stunning severance payouts. Screwing up royally wasn’t enough. Sometimes neither was being charged with a felony. Now it appears that at least one oft-maligned corporate board has found the backbone to expand, rather than limit, the definition of for-cause termination. In an October filing, Disney disclosed that in new CEO Bob Iger’s contract, “cause” can include his “failure to cooperate … with any investigation or inquiry into his or the Company’s business practices … including … Executive’s refusal to be deposed or to provide testimony at any trial or inquiry.” What that means in English is that if Iger stonewalls an investigation (like, say, former AIG CEO Hank Greenberg) or pleads the Fifth, the board can send him packing without his golden parachute. “This clause is quite unusual,” says Stephen Fackler, an attorney at Gibson Dunn & Crutcher who’s crafted hundreds of compensation plans. “Presumably it signals the efforts of the board to establish a different sort of board-CEO relationship in the post-Eisner era.” Disney declined to comment. Don’t expect other boards to mimic Disney’s move overnight. Change is glacial in executive comp, and what’s more, if the clause was ever enforced, Iger could theoretically argue that he was wrongfully terminated for exercising his constitutional rights. But the more oversight by the board, the less chance it’ll ever come to that. |
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The unique world of Tim Burton's cult-classic
stop-motion animated film "The Nightmare Before
Christmas" can be experienced in interactive digital form
as The Nightmare Before Christmas video games are now
available in North America, Buena Vista Games, Inc. announced
today. Tim Burton's The Nightmare Before Christmas, Oogie's
Revenge for the PlayStation 2 computer entertainment system
and the Xbox video game system from Microsoft and Tim Burton's
The Nightmare Before Christmas: The Pumpkin King for the Game
Boy Advance system are now at retailers.
Staying true to the spirit of the enchanting property with engaging game play elements, original characters, memorable music and voice actors from the film, Tim Burton's The Nightmare Before Christmas: Oogie's Revenge and Tim Burton's The Nightmare Before Christmas: The Pumpkin King bring the imaginative world to life like never before. Gamers and Nightmare fans alike will enjoy a truly cinematic experience in these action-packed interactive adventures. Tim Burton's The Nightmare Before Christmas: Oogie's Revenge continues the story from the film while Tim Burton's The Nightmare Before Christmas: The Pumpkin King tells the story of the events before the film. "The Capcom® team and I were focused on capturing the absolute essence of the feature film while creating Tim Burton's The Nightmare Before Christmas: Oogie's Revenge and Tim Burton's The Nightmare Before Christmas: The Pumpkin King -- both in the characters and the environments," said Deane Taylor, art director for both the film and the video games. "'The Nightmare Before Christmas' is a film that continues to delight audiences of all ages and I hope the video games will have the same impact." "The Nightmare Before Christmas property from home video to theme parks and merchandise remains both a year-round favorite and a Halloween tradition," said Craig Relyea, vice president of marketing for Buena Vista Games. "BVG is pleased to offer gamers and Nightmare Before Christmas fans an opportunity to explore the fanciful Nightmare Before Christmas world with these new video games." About Tim Burton's The Nightmare Before Christmas: Oogie's Revenge Developed by Capcom, this new action adventure game continues from where Director Tim Burton's movie left off 12 years ago, and expands the depth of the environments and characters from the original screenplay. Fans and gamers will enjoy an unrivaled interactive experience that remains true to the spirit of the film by incorporating faithful depictions of the original characters, beautifully rendered visuals, fun exploration and engaging game play elements. Players assume the role of Jack Skellington, the Pumpkin King of Halloween Town, who must help reclaim the town from the mischievous Oogie Boogie and his henchmen. Game features include Jack's wide variety of attack options including the use of the new and amazing Soul Robber, costume changes with unique attacks and more. Available for PlayStation 2 and Xbox, Tim Burton's The Nightmare Before Christmas: Oogie's Revenge has a rating of "E10+" for Everyone 10 and older by the Entertainment Software Rating Board (ESRB) and has a suggested retail price of $39.99. About Tim Burton's The Nightmare Before Christmas: The Pumpkin King Serving as the video game prequel to the imaginative world Tim Burton introduced in the film, this action title tells the tale of how Jack Skellington first met Oogie Boogie and saved Halloween. Players join Jack and his trusted pal Zero on a journey to locate the source of unusual bugs that start to invade Halloween Town. With help from familiar faces, and beloved characters such as Sally, the Mayor, and the inventions of Dr. Finklestein, Jack discovers that the bugs are under the command of Oogie Boogie. It's up to Jack to rid the town of this new infestation and stop Oogie Boogie from carrying out his evil plot. Developed by TOSE and available for the Game Boy Advance, Tim Burton's The Nightmare Before Christmas: The Pumpkin King has a rating of "E10+" for Everyone 10 and older by the Entertainment Software Rating Board (ESRB) and has a suggested retail price of $29.99. Tim Burton's The Nightmare Before Christmas: Pumpkin King is the first Game Boy Advance title ever to use lenticular packaging on its box - featuring a 3-D image of Jack Skellington and the Pumpkin King. |
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A
Chance to Own a Bit of Real Bibbidi-Bobbidi-Boo
Destined to be collector's items, a one-of-a-kind modern interpretation of Cinderella's gown by Monique Lhuillier and a one-of-a-kind modern interpretation of Cinderella's shoes by Jimmy Choo will be auctioned off to the general public on www.DisneyAuctions.com from October 17 - 27. Each designer created the fashions in honor of Cinderella's highly anticipated October 4 DVD debut. Kelly Monaco, elegant favorite in TV's "Dancing With The Stars" and "General Hospital" wore the fashions down the red carpet at the October 2 New York DVD Premiere for Walt Disney's original "CINDERELLA," in order to raise awareness for the auction. The Bush-Clinton Katrina Fund, Kelly Monaco's charity of choice, will receive proceeds from the sale of the beautiful and unique designer creations. The movie that made audiences believes that "dreams come true" and one of Walt Disney's most beloved animated films, "CINDERELLA" is the sixth release in Disney's celebrated "Platinum Edition" DVD line. On DVD for the first time ever, the highly anticipated release has been digitally restored and loaded with bonus materials that allow viewers to extend their movie experience and transport themselves into the magical world of Cinderella. Both the DVD and VHS editions carry a suggested retail price of $29.99 (SRP). Walt Disney Home Entertainment is distributed by Buena Vista Home Entertainment, Inc., a recognized industry leader. Buena Vista Home Entertainment, Inc. is the marketing, sales and distribution company for Walt Disney, Touchstone Pictures, Hollywood Pictures, Miramax, Dimension and Buena Vista videocassettes and DVDs. |
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Club
Cool at Epcot opening date
Club Cool at Epcot is currently scheduled to reopen under the new name on November 16th 2005. |
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Kermit
the Frog Makes First Stop of His 50th Anniversary World Tour
in Kermit, Texas
To honor the 50th anniversary of his meteoric rise from the swamp to international icon, Kermit the Frog kicked off his celebratory World Tour on October 14 in the aptly named town of Kermit, Texas (population 5,714). At a press conference, Kermit Mayor Ted Westmoreland officially proclaimed the day "Kermit the Frog Day" in honor of the world's most beloved Frog and presented Kermit the Frog with the key to the city. In addition, the town dedicated a park to Kermit the Frog, painted his image on a water tower, renamed a street "Kermit the Frog Avenue" and arranged for a special, one-day Kermit the Frog cancellation stamp to postmark all mail leaving the Kermit, Texas post office. "For 50 years, Kermit the Frog has built a career on knowing the value of making people laugh, bringing smiles to those young and old, and teaching people how to treat one another," noted Westmoreland. "We are proud to share our town's name with such an acclaimed entertainer, as well as call him an honorary citizen of this great community." In true Lone Star State spirit, the town of Kermit, Texas embraced the arrival of Kermit the Frog in a grand manner. As part of the Homecoming festivities, Kermit the Frog announced the 2005 Kermit High School Homecoming Queen, was presented as the honorary Homecoming King and served as Grand Marshal in the annual Kermit Homecoming Parade. As a final tribute to the famous Frog, hundreds of townspeople gathered en masse onto the high school's football field. Donning green cowboy hats, they stood in formation to create a "50," as well as an outline of Kermit's head for a one-of-a-kind aerial shot. Months of detailed preparations preceded the celebration, encompassing everything from the decoration of store windows and a complete town clean up to the local Dairy Queen that offered green versions of their select menu items including green fries, green gravy and green ice cream. In addition, the students from Kermit High School created a six-foot, steel sculpture of Kermit for the Frog's special day. The grassroots effort included widespread support of the city council, parks department, local businesses and the school district. "I am over the moon with the welcome I received from the townspeople of Kermit," noted Kermit the Frog. "This celebration has truly set the bar so high, that other stops will really have to leap -- and I know a thing or two about leaping -- to match the love and support I experienced in Kermit, Texas." Following his stop in Kermit, Texas, Kermit will continue on his World Tour where he will visit fans in 50 destinations around the world, touching down in dozens of countries. The next stops on his world tour are NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston and an opening night performance with the Rockettes. For more information about Kermit's World Tour, visit http://www.muppets.com. |
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Star
of ABC's 'Commander in Chief' stuck on top of Washington
The U.S. dollar is getting a modern makeover of sorts, as the Treasury Department has given its blessing for actress Geena Davis' portrait to be temporarily featured on top of President George Washington. Davis is starring in ABC's new series, "Commander in Chief," a drama about the first woman president. According to the Los Angeles Times, the network got federal officials to OK the circulation of an undisclosed number of dollar bills with stickers of Davis superimposed on the original "George W." as part of a promotion gimmick. "If you do things right, you get higher 'talk value,'" Michael Benson, ABC's senior vice president for marketing, told the Times. "It's about creating something that you want to tell your friends about, and show your family members," he said, adding: "You've got to make sure it's organic to the show, original and unexpected." Critics such as Rob Hedelt at the Frederickburg Free Lance-Star in Virginia think the program could be designed to get Americans used to having a woman running the country. "Is there something to the theory that having something happen in our national fiction makes it more likely to happen in real life?" Hedelt writes. "If that's the case, ABC's new 'Commander in Chief' may be paving the way for a woman to sit in the Oval Office, and doing a nice job telling that story, thank you very much." |
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ABC
Sports, ESPN College Football Analysts Nominate Texas Tech
Quarterback Cody Hodges
The national player of the week nominations are in and the polls are open. Red Raider fans can cast their votes for Texas Tech quarterback Cody Hodges for the Cingular Wireless/ABC Sports All-America Player of the Week, the only major college football honor determined exclusively by fans. Hodges was nominated for the award after recording 643 yards -- the 4th highest total in Division 1-A history -- and passed for five touchdowns in the Red Raiders' 59-20 win over Kansas State. Hodges is one of four candidates for the All-America Player of the Week, who are selected by a panel of ABC Sports and ESPN college football analysts. The other finalists are: University of Texas quarterback Vince Young, who was nominated for the award for the second time this season after recording a career-high 336 yards, including 58 rushing yards and five touchdowns -- passing for two and rushing for three more -- in the Longhorns' 42-17 win over Colorado; West Virginia running back Steve Slaton, who was nominated for the first time in his career after 31 carries, for a career-high 188 yards and six touchdowns in the Mountaineers' triple over-time win over Louisville; and USC running back Reggie Bush, was nominated for the award after 15 carries for 160 yards and three touchdowns -- marking his 5th straight 100-yard rushing game - - in the Trojans' last second win over Notre Dame. Bush's nomination also makes the fourth USC player nominated this season. Previous Cingular/All-America Player of the Week winners this season include Georgia quarterback D.J. Shockley, Texas quarterback Vince Young and Texas A&M quarterback Reggie McNeal, Minnesota running back Laurence Maroney, Notre Dame quarterback Brady Quinn, and UCLA running back Maurice Drew. Who will be this week's winner now rests solely in the hands of college football fans nationwide. Fans have until Wednesday, October 19 at 11:59 p.m. EDT to submit their votes via wireless text messaging.* The winner will be announced October 20 in the first half of the ESPN Thursday Night College Football Game between Virginia Tech and Maryland. Fans can learn more about this week's nominees online at www.abcsportsallamerica.com or at www.cingularallamerica.com. Here's how fans can register to vote for the
Cingular/ABC Sports All- America Player of the Week this week
and every week throughout the 2005 season: Each time fans vote, they are entered into a sweepstakes to win a trip to the Bowl Championship Series game of their choice. Fans can vote as often as they like. In December, fans will get a chance to say who the best player in the nation is by voting for the Cingular/ABC Sports All-America Player of the Year. The selection process will culminate in December in a one-hour special on ABC Sports when the Cingular/ABC Sports Player of the Year and the Football Writers Association of America All-America team will be announced. Last year, Texas running back and Chicago Bears first round draft pick Cedric Benson was selected by fans as the Player of the Year. * Other wireless carriers must opt-in for their subscribers to participate |
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'Angel's'
Acker Dons an 'Alias'
The "Angel/Alias" connection continued on Thursday, Oct. 13, with the debut of former "Angel" regular Amy Acker on ABC's "Alias," playing Kelly Preston, a member of a rogue spy organization headed by the nefarious Gordon Dean (Tyrees Allen). Acker now finds herself working for co-executive producer Jeffrey Bell, who took over as show-runner on "Angel" after the departure of Tim Minear, who went to work on "Firefly" with "Angel" co-creator Joss Whedon. Also on hand is "Alias" producer Drew Goddard, who previously worked on "Lost" (the other show from "Alias" creator J.J. Abrams) and Whedon's "Buffy the Vampire Slayer," which gave birth to "Angel." Also, Acker is working with Rachel Nichols, who plays Preston's former colleague -- and now foe -- Rachel Gibson, who has discovered she's not working for the good guys after all. Nichols came to "Alias" after a stint on FOX's short-lived crime drama "The Inside," created by Tim Minear.
"I saw Tim at the 'Serenity'
premiere," Acker says ("Serenity" is the
feature film based on "Firefly"). "I said,
'I'm working with your girl.' The whole crew of 'Angel' was
on 'The Inside,' so we keep finding people we know in
common."
Although it took a while to come to fruition, Acker first auditioned for "Alias" back when she was on "Angel." At the time, her character, science geek Fred, had transformed into a blue-skinned demon called Illyria. Acker was trying for the role of Nadia, sister of super-agent Sydney Bristow (Jennifer Garner), a part eventually taken by Mia Maestro. "I actually had to go to the audition right from 'Angel,'" Acker says. "We had a break, and I was in the blue makeup. I had to drive across town in the blue makeup and go in. "That was the first time that I met all those guys, but we kept in touch since that. So I was just happy they asked me to do it." Because she was working long hours on "Angel," Acker didn't get a chance to see much of "Alias," but she caught up quickly. "I borrowed the DVDs from my friends and made my husband" -- actor James Carpinello -- "watch five episodes of 'Alias' every day, so we're caught up. It's great." Acker soon learned that attention must be paid if a viewer has any hope of following the convoluted "Alias" storylines. "James missed a couple in the middle, and I said, 'I can't explain it. Just go with it.'" In the great "Alias" tradition, Acker is doing fight scenes, something she already got to do on "Angel," and something she's trained for. "In college," she says, "I did three years of fight training. We did rapier and dagger, broadsword, quarterstaff and an animal kung fu style. I thought it was fun. "I've had a little experience. I've been trying to figure out how to become more believable as a fighter, but not picking fights in bars or anything." Acker also got to participate in the show's signature pyrotechnics. "I blew something up," she says. "I didn't get to actually see the explosion, but I did get to cause an explosion. It's nice, very powerful. You never know what they're going to do. It's like with Joss, you can feel like you're getting to play so many different parts, but you only have to audition for one job." Right now, Acker is scheduled for 7 to 9 episodes, but she's game for more, saying, "I'm having a great time. I'll stay on it for as long as they'll keep me." |
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Michael
J. Fox Travels to 'Boston'
Emmy-winning actor Michael J. Fox, whose last TV role was a guest appearance on "Scrubs" more than a year ago, is headed back to the small screen with David E. Kelley. Fox has signed to guest in three episodes of ABC's "Boston Legal," playing a "charismatic and dynamic" CEO who's also battling stage four lung cancer. Airdates for Fox's episodes haven't been scheduled yet. "We couldn't be more excited," Kelley says of signing Fox. "His comedic and dramatic strengths make him a natural for this series."
The former "Spin City" and
"Family Ties" star will play a character named
Daniel Post on "Boston Legal." He retains the
services of Crane, Poole & Schmidt for a suit
involving an anti-cancer drug, and later strikes up a
relationship with lawyer Denise Bauer (Julie Bowen).
Fox has been living with Parkinson's disease for the past 14 years, and in recent years it has limited his ability to put in the long hours often required of movie and TV work. His most recent on-camera work was in February 2004 when he guested on two episodes of NBC's "Scrubs." Fox has won four Emmys during his career -- three for playing young Reaganite Alex P. Keaton on "Family Ties" and one for his final season on "Spin City." He also counts four Golden Globes and two Screen Actors Guild awards to his credit. |
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Transportation
Drivers Strike; Claim Disney, Mears Stealing Business
Several transportation drivers were again protesting at the Orlando International Airport Monday, claiming Disney and transportation giant Mears are stealing their passengers. The drivers said Disney and Mears are recruiting passengers inside Orlando International Airport and taking their business. Several independent contractors said if the "Disney-Mears" coalition continues, they will not be able to make ends meet," Local 6 reporter Vanessa Medina said. "They are taking our rides," taxi driver Ed Korgan said. "They are taking rides that usually go to demand taxis." "Sometimes I work 17 to 18 hours and cannot make any money," a driver told Medina. The strike is expected to continue until Tuesday. Drivers said they fear the Disney-Mears combination will begin to take traffic from the convention center and other locations. |
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DMV
tries to take advice from Disney
If you go into Publix and ask where something is, chances are they won't just tell you. They'll show you. From the senior store manager to the newest stock clerk, employees usually will stop what they're doing and take you to the right shelf. As you leave, the cashier asks if you found everything you needed. Winn-Dixie, Albertsons and other big stores do it, too. When so many companies expect us to do their work for them - by punching one for this and two for that, pumping our own gas or using the self-checkout lane - personal courtesy sticks in the customer's mind. Walt Disney World figured that out long ago. Its employees are invariably knowledgable, cheerful people who seem to like their jobs and realize that "I don't know" is never the answer. On the other end of the customer-service spectrum is the unfair stereotype of the driver's license bureau. When Jay Leno makes a joke about bureaucrats, what does he cite? "The DMV" - and his audience laughs because we've all been there to take tests and pay fees. The Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles wants to change that image. Director Fred Dickinson has asked Publix and Disney to train his trainers, so they can help his licensing employees deal with the daily throngs. Dickinson said some licensing supervisors went through some training with Publix and got some instructional videos. He said he's sending three trainers to Disney for customer-service drills. Submitting his budget to the governor and Cabinet, Dickinson said complaints of rudeness bothered him more than any other problem in his agency. He said it's worst in big cities, especially among resident aliens and foreign-born citizens who must show extra proof of identity. "Pretty much north of Orlando, it's not an issue," Dickinson said last week. "The big jam-up is in the big cities." Dickinson said there's a rule that employees must stay to serve everyone who is in line when the bureau closes at 6p.m., "so we have people staying until 8 or 9 at night, then coming back in at 7 the next morning." As anyone who's been there can attest, most delays are caused by the applicants not having proper identification or not following procedures that are clearly posted on the wall. But it's easier to blame the employees than ourselves. Perhaps part of the problem is that when we ask the government for any kind of license, it's an unequal equation. The state can say "no" and the customer, having waited a long time and paid a fee, can't shop elsewhere. But employees don't reject people for nothing. Maybe, when drivers flunk a test or have to pay a higher fee to restore a suspended license, they're unhappy and take it out on an overworked, underpaid employee. That gets old - fast. For the employee, you might be the 100th cranky customer at the counter today, with 30 more in line. But for you - the taxpayer, applicant and customer - the examiner is the first employee you've dealt with all day. "We're just trying to impress on our people that when somebody comes up to the counter, it's our last chance to make a first impression," Dickinson said. Well, if all else fails, maybe they could dress up like Tigger. |
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BKN
Signs New Deal With Disney ABC Cable Networks Group
BKN International AG ("BKN" or
the "Company")(AIM:BKN)(FRANKFURT:BKQ), the
Frankfurt and London listed global animation company
engaged in the distribution and marketing of animated
children's television programmes and related consumer
products, announces that its US subsidiary BKN New Media
Inc has signed a television broadcast licensing agreement
with Disney ABC Cable Networks Group in the USA on Legend
of the Dragon (the "Series"), its latest
production. The Series will premiere in fall 2006 on Jetix,
the action/adventure programming block, which airs during
primetime on Toon Disney and mornings on ABC Family. |
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The
Cheetah Girls Announce First-Ever Headlining Tour
Walt Disney Records recording group The Cheetah Girls will embark on a 17-city tour this holiday season beginning December 6th in Newark, New Jersey. The tour comes in support of the girl's new holiday CD, The Cheetah Girls: Cheetah-licious Christmas. The CD features the multi-platinum girl group's amazing vocal harmonies and irresistible growl power vibe on 13 new and favorite Christmas classics. It's the long-awaited follow-up to their ratings-smashing debut Disney Channel Original Movie, The Cheetah Girls, and its multi-platinum soundtrack. The Cheetah Girls - Adrienne Bailon, Kiely Williams, and Sabrina Bryan - continue to rule the charts with their single release of "Cinderella" and their rendition of "I Won't Say (I'm in Love)" from Disney's Hercules for the top-selling Disneymania 3 CD and concert DVD. Both songs remain on Radio Disney's Top 30 Countdown. In addition to touring, the trio is scheduled to appear in Macy's Thanksgiving and ABC Walt Disney World Christmas parades. They're also enjoying the simultaneous release of their latest soundtrack contribution: a rump-shaking version of the Ray Charles classic "Shake a Tail Feather" recorded for the Walt Disney Pictures computer animated film Chicken Little. Next, The Cheetah Girls prepare for the film sequel The Cheetah Girls 2, slated to premiere next summer following the release of a new The Cheetah Girls studio album and North American concert tour. Sisters Aly & AJ will take their brand of melodic rock on the road this winter with The Cheetah Girls. On their Hollywood Records debut CD, Into the Rush, the multi-talented duo prove they're close in spirit and in heart. Aly & AJ wrote all but two tracks on the album. (Their versions of "Do You Believe in Magic" and "Walking on Sunshine" were featured on the hit film Herbie: Fully Loaded). Since their album was released in August, Aly & AJ have sold over 250,000 units, and have had three # 1 singles on Radio Disney. The Disney Channel recently aired "Aly & AJ; In Concert" during their new season premiere week and will re-air the concert special October 21. The girls are also media darlings with features in Cosmo Girl, J-14, Twist, Sweet 16, a Tiger Beat cover, and critical acclaim from the highly respected Washington Post. What's more, Aly co-stars as Keely Teslow in the hit Disney Channel series, Phil of the Future, which allows her to sing and act, while AJ has had regular roles on CBS' The Guardian and the classic soap opera General Hospital. Catch The Cheetah Girls and Aly & AJ
in the following cities near you: For additional tour information and updates, please go to www.thecheetahgirlsmusic.com |
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Sunday October 16, 2005 |
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The Disney films Peter Pan and Lady
and the Tramp are part of American pop culture history,
and so are the cartoonists who brought them to life. Al Baruch
of Tamarac was one of the animators who helped create the
landmark films.
After graduating from Pratt Institute in New York City, Baruch went straight to Walt Disney Studios in Burbank, Calif., where he got off to a shocking start. He said his jaw dropped when he showed up that first morning in 1953. He found himself working as an artistically talented janitor, not that unusual because the studio started all animators at the bottom. "They want to train you the way they do their art and they want someone who didn't come from another studio. They like a greenhorn," Baruch said. "After about five months they said, drop the mop and report to the bullpen." He was upgraded to a position they call an in-betweener, an artist who draws the 527 cels required to create 27 seconds of film. Eventually he was promoted to character-developer. For Lady and the Tramp he helped develop Jock the Scottish terrier and Trusty the English bloodhound. "I'm proud of the Scottish dog because my voice was used on it when the man who did the voice had laryngitis," Baruch said. Baruch voiced 15 lines of dialogue, but his participation turned out to be a sweet-and-sour affair. "A week and a half later Disney got sued for $15,000 for using a non-union voice," he said. "But they gave me a check and said, if you hadn't done it we'd have lost $150,000 in salaries with nobody doing anything." After leaving Disney, the artist went to New York and in 1961 signed on with Terrytoons, then a division of CBS, as a design cartoonist and animator on characters such as Mighty Mouse. "I worked on publicity, not on the film," Baruch said. "But I pitched in on the animation since I'd worked on Mickey Mouse and they figured I could do Mighty Mouse, but that wasn't my main job." Later, Baruch became a teacher and the head animator at Hofstra University in Hempstead, N.Y. "When I started teaching in the early '80s I found a whole different life for myself," he said. "I had a daughter who had leukemia twice and I devoted myself to helping children with leukemia. I can't give them thousands of dollars to do research so I'd go through the cancer wards and draw for the children." He had to give up that practice because he would break down and grieve when a child he had come to know died. In August 2004, he and his wife, Diane, moved to Tamarac. Baruch, now 77, does speaking engagements, classes and presentations like the workshop he facilitated at the Northwest Regional Library in Coral Springs in September. "I think he is a legend," said Luz Macias, a graduate library intern who was at the workshop. "He is so warm with the kids, a very chummy person." Macias said kids are shy about their work and don't want to make mistakes but Baruch put them at ease. "They really wanted to draw; that was my surprise." Baruch also teaches autistic children at Nova Southeastern University. "I found tremendous enjoyment working with these children," he said. He said he still does consignment work for Disney, but his greatest satisfaction comes from working with kids. His newest venture will be a demonstration from 12:30 to 2:30 p.m. Saturday at Pearl Artist and Craft Supply, 1033 E. Oakland Park Blvd., Oakland Park. Baruch will meet and greet young artists interested in signing up for a class he will give on animation beginning in November. The eight-week course, held at the store, will cost $25 and students will receive a discount on art supplies. In addition to drawing comic strips and painting cels, the class will hear information about salaries, how to protect their work and how to get to Disney. |
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Disney's Magnolia Course was stretched another
300 yards for the Funai Classic, but for the amateur golfer,
the course can be a struggle.
Golfers are notorious masochists, but before
teeing it up on this brutish layout, a clinical checklist, if
not a tourniquet, is paramount.
Preparing to play Disney World's newly stretched Magnolia Course is like packing for a mountain climb, except that the march is horizontal. Precautions are necessary to ensure survival and avoid embarrassment. Allergy tablet for the high rough? Swallowed. Five ibuprofen pills for a sore back? Ingested. Flaxseed oil to rub on my driver? Nope. "Flaxseed oil?" said former NFL star Darryl Talley, who was waiting his turn before teeing off on the first hole. "That's a good one." For anybody tallying with a pencil, the laughs become purely self-effacing from then on. From the Mega-Mag's new professional tee boxes, lengthened during a $600,000 makeover this summer, the course will measure a daunting 7,516 yards during this week's Funai Classic, putting it among the five longest layouts on the PGA Tour. After rebuilding the greens and tacking on another 300 yards in length, the Mag reopened Sept. 22, better known as the autumnal equinox, wherein there are exactly 12 hours of daylight and sunlight. It seemed more like the summer solstice -- you know, the longest day of the year. We emphasize long, as in 4.27 overall miles of raking, hacking, flailing and flogging that no amateur has any business attempting on even his best day. Rest assured, this was not our best day. Disney invited a small cadre of folks to the Mag's ribbon cutting, including state golf officials and various Orlando-area industry types, and dared them to play from the tips. Head pro Kevin Weickel had three words of advice when he sent a preliminary e-mail to the Sentinel: "Bring a howitzer." Indeed, henceforth, Mag is officially shorthand for Magnum. In terms of scores posted during the unveiling by some fairly competent amateurs, the Mag was not the Happiest Place on Earth -- probably because most of the planet was used to stretch the course. From the back tees, this is not your grandpa Walt's golf course anymore. Lee Rawls, the director of golf at Disney and a fair player himself, had a hot dog crammed in his mouth when he rolled in his lone birdie putt of the day, then let loose a huge whoop. You'd better pack an entire lunch before playing from the new Funai Classic tees. "Unless you are some kind of a serious golfer," said Rawls, shaking his head midway through the round, "you just don't want to play from back there." On the grownups' course We joined Rawls and Weickel during the unveiling. Our trio was the first group off the first hole, and there wasn't a divot or blade of grass out of place. The course, which opened in 1971 and hosted a tour event the first year, was closed all summer and never had looked better. Even though Weickel and Rawls have played the Mag hundreds of times between them, one lengthened tee was pushed so far back into new terrain that they spotted a new fishing hole through the trees. "You get to see the whole course from back here, that's for sure," Weickel said. Pro or wannabe, champion or chop, anybody who plunks down the green fees will have the chance to play from the Funai tees. Once among the longest courses on tour -- long-hitting Jack Nicklaus won the first three Disney titles -- Disney had fallen behind the curve mostly thanks to the technological gains from equipment. Of course, all the titanium in the world won't help a 10-handicapper beat a course that features three par-4 holes of at least 485 yards. "Technology or not, 7,500 yards is still a very big golf course," said Jim Demick, director of the Florida State Golf Association, who was on hand and played from the new Funai tees. "Disney has done a great job upgrading its courses in the last few years, and with new irrigation, new greens and several hundred more yards, the Magnolia course looks great. I look forward to seeing the pros play it all." The revamped course is tied for the fourth-longest layout on the PGA Tour, and one of those ranked ahead of the Mag is situated a mile above sea level in the thin air of suburban Denver.
Even for those of us who can wallop a driver
270 yards on occasion, it's a real grind. It's akin to
thinking that, just because you've made a few slick moves on
occasion while driving a passenger sedan, you can drive a
stock car at Daytona.
After teeing off on the 10th hole, we found a pink Dunlop ball that apparently had been whacked onto the Mag from the adjoining Oak Trail layout, where Disney stages it annual Parent-Child tournament during Funai week. Oak Trail measures a modest 2,913 yards for nine holes and is populated by youngsters. Most of the day, we felt like kids who sneaked onto the grownups' course. Disney isn't pulling any punches, either. For years at the U.S. Open, the USGA declined to list long par-4 holes at more than 499 yards because it marked a new psychological threshold. Not so here. The ninth at Disney is now a 500-yard par-4 that requires a tee shot of around 250 yards just to reach the fairway. Rough adds to difficulty That's only the half of it. Orlando is listed as roughly 125 feet above sea level, so nobody gets a break from thin air. Actually, given the Florida heat and humidity, the ball doesn't travel nearly as far as in drier climes. Tougher still, the golf ball doesn't roll much in Disney's moist fairways, which were carved from old swampland. Tee shots, no matter how hard they are crushed, tend to stop within inches of where they land. "Hey, look, I got my usual roll," Weickel cracked after his umpteenth drive in a row bounced all of a foot after landing. But that certainly beat hitting it in the rough. With the addition of a new sprinkler system, spraying a shot into the rough was like hitting it into Ben Wallace's afro. Disney superintendent Gary Myers, who has seen tour pros torch his courses with winning scores of 20-under or better, looked like Cruella De Vil as the hapless amateurs prepared to hack it around in the deep Bermuda. The added yardage won't be a huge issue for the tour pros, but with the dual difficulty of the snarling rough, the course will be far more difficult for those hitting it slightly crooked. "It's going to be very interesting to see where the tour puts the tees and from how far back they have to play," Myers said. Midway through the round, it dawned on Weickel -- who bashes it as far as many tour players off the tee -- that the yardage wasn't the toughest part of the new Mag equation. "It's the rough," he said. "I have never seen it like this. My forearms are getting tired. I'm going to have to ice them down when we finish." The rest of us needed a full-body compress. By the time we stumbled to the final tee, greens looked like tropical mirages. On the 18th, the traditional 150-yard stake, placed in the middle of the fairway, looked more like a golf tee in the distance. For good reason: The hole is a staggering 492 yards long and that 150 stake was nearly 350 yards away. For perspective's sake, across the road that serves as the entrance to Disney's two PGA Tour courses, a group of guys were laughing it up as they putted for birdies and eagles on the Palm Course's first hole. They had every reason to be giddy -- it's three strides longer at 495 yards. And it's a par-5 hole. The scorecard became a secondary issue. Weickel was 1 under at one point on the front nine, but faded on the back, where a staggering 145 yards has been added to the three closing holes. Same for Rawls and myself after respectable 41s on the front nine. Few top amateurs have the moxie to beat it 300 yards, much less a bunch of desk jockeys, so by the time our trio was finished, we were equal parts beaten up and beaten down. "Thankfully," Rawls said, "this isn't how I put hot dogs on the table." |
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Jon Burton could turn an average battle in the
video game adaptation of The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe
into a crimson bloodbath that would make Grand Theft Auto's
Tommy Vercetti proud, just by making a few tweaks to the
game's computer code.
Of course, Disney and the estate of The Chronicles of Narnia scribe C.S. Lewis would flip out, the game would be slapped with a 17-and-older mature rating - and it would probably spike review scores by an average of 10% across the board. Burton, director of U.K.-based game development studio Traveller's Tales, shakes his head at the contradiction of a society railing at wanton violence in video games - values he shares, as a Christian family man - and the nose-in-the-air attitude game reviewers take towards so-called family fare. Traveller's Tales' latest title will try to walk the fine line between intense action and teen-friendly fun, with The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe mixing puzzle-solving and exploration with copious amounts of monster slaying. The game hits stores Nov. 15, just ahead of the Disney flick's Dec. 9 release. As a bit of a lark, the developers temporarily added computer code that instructed the game to show blood splatters with every impact of sword or arrow on monster flesh, and the screen was soon awash in red as the game's quartet of kid heroes had it out with waves of critters. But that's not what Narnia is about, said Burton. "I don't think it glorifies violence," he said. "It's not like you're getting into a car with a prostitute, sleeping with her and killing her to get the money back." Based in the Manchester suburb of Knutsford, Traveller's Tales have done everything from Mickey Mouse and Toy Story titles to games featuring Sonic the Hedgehog, Crash Bandicoot and cheeky LEGO-fied versions of Star Wars characters. "We've worked with probably everybody, bar Mario, in video games," said Burton. The Narnia game will likely be the studio's highest-profile title to date, though, especially if the film spawns the expected sequels and subsequent games. With the blessing and backing of Disney (who is bankrolling the movie) and C. S. Lewis's estate, Burton says the 21-person team who worked on the game has created something on par with what a giant like Electronic Arts would do with 10 times the resources. But it's been a labour of love for Burton and his team. He inquired about doing the game adaptation before the Narnia movie details were even finalized, feeling the books' strong Christian themes were a good fit with his own beliefs. Interestingly, he says he turned down the Harry Potter games (which eventually went to EA) for the same reason. While he doesn't feel Harry and Hermione practising magic is going to draw kids into the occult - he's a fan of the books and films - Burton just wasn't completely comfortable with translating witchcraft and wizardry into an interactive medium. "Do I want to be responsible for the game?" Burton remembers asking himself at the time. "I'm not sure." With Disney throwing a ton of cash behind the marketing of both the Narnia movie and the game, and with the game coming out three weeks before the film, much is riding on Traveller's Tales finding success with The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. Burton, for his part, is ready. "I will await judgment from all sides," he said. We think he means from above, too. |
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Pressed penny machines have arrived at Hong Kong Disneyland. Machines can at present be found in both Emporium and Pooh Corner. Several of the items are labeled as limited edition for the park's Grand Opening. Tomorrowland's Autopia is on track for a July 2006 official opening. The load station can now be clearly seen from the land's entrance from Central Plaza. The steel roof will feature the same wavy form that is a continuation of that found on Comet Cafe and Starliner Diner. |
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To millions The Chronicles of Narnia are a
childhood tale of wonder and triumph now made into a film that
could inspire millions of children to read. To others,
including the celebrated fantasy author Philip Pullman, they
are stories of racism and thinly veiled religious propaganda
that will corrupt children rather than inspiring them.
Either way, one thing is certain: this Christmas, and perhaps the next six, depending on sequels, everyone will be talking about Narnia. Disney is already in the middle of one of the biggest marketing campaigns in recent cinematic history. It is trying to lure both mainstream filmgoers and evangelical Christians, who will respond to CS Lewis's parallels between his characters and the Bible. HarperCollins is set to publish 170 Lewis-related books in more than 60 countries, many of them Christian-themed works. Disney has hired Christian marketing groups to handle the film. For Pullman, who is an avowed atheist and a critic of Lewis, that is bad news. 'If the Disney Corporation wants to market this film as a great Christian story, they'll just have to tell lies about it,' Pullman told The Observer Pullman believes that Lewis's books portray a version of Christianity that relies on martial combat, outdated fears of sexuality and women, and also portrays a religion that looks a lot like Islam in unashamedly racist terms. 'It's not the presence of Christian doctrine I object to so much as the absence of Christian virtue. The highest virtue, we have on the authority of the New Testament itself, is love, and yet you find not a trace of that in the books,' he said. The Narnia books, Pullman said, contained '...a peevish blend of racist, misogynistic and reactionary prejudice; but of love, of Christian charity, [there is] not a trace'. Certainly that is not the view of Disney. Film executives are eagerly anticipating repeating the success last year of Mel Gibson's Jesus biopic The Passion of The Christ, which was shunned by mainstream studios and then picked up by the evangelical churches. The movie then stunned the film world by raking in hundreds of millions of dollars by tapping into the previously ignored Christian market. Already American evangelicals are planning to use the Narnia film as a preaching tool. A group called Catholic Outreach has advertised for 150 co-ordinators across the country to help promote the film. It is also organising 'sneak peak' events at which trailers will be shown to church audiences and executives from the film will talk about the project. Other Christian groups and study centres are getting behind the film too. 'We believe that God will speak the gospel of Jesus Christ through this film,' said Lon Allison, director of the Billy Graham Centre at Wheaton College in Illinois. Ted Haggard, president of the National Association of Evangelicals, said that the film was an ideal way for a Christian message to be brought to people who would not otherwise go near a church. 'Here is yet another tool that many may find to be effective in communicating the message of Jesus to those who may not respond to other presentations,' he said. As well as a huge potential force at the box office, the other possible benefit for Disney is to heal its long troubled relationship with America's evangelical community. Many Christian groups have often boycotted the company over such issues as holding special theme days for gays at Disneyland. But in the run-up to the Narnia release date on 9 December, evangelical leaders have been generous in their praise of the company they have often reviled. But it is not all about God. The Chronicles of Narnia seems to offer a 'perfect storm' combination of factors. As well as having the Passion's appeal to Christians, it has the special effects and fantasy-laden appeal of The Lord of the Rings, Peter Jackson's box-office hit that also netted numerous Oscars. That film was also seen as a huge risk at the time, but Jackson's achievement confounded the critics and proved that 'swords and sorcery' movies could strike cinematic gold. Trailers for the first Narnia film, called The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe after the first book in the chronicles, have already drawn comparisons to The Lord of the Rings' style and cinema presentation. It has the same powerful themes of a new world, complete with fantastic creatures and sweeping battle scenes against a beautiful landscape. The final crucial element in Disney's planning is turning the Narnia films into a money-spinning franchise like the Harry Potter series. Lewis wrote a total of seven Narnia books, and if the first one is a huge hit the sequels will be inevitable. That means a new Narnia film could be released at Christmas, complete with spin-off merchandising and toys, every year until 2012. But while Disney has bet big on Narnia and now waits with bated breath, there is already one winner in the saga. The film, just like The Lord of the Rings, was shot in New Zealand, which then reaped a tourism windfall. Now local tour companies are already planning to show visitors around the spot where the Narnia film's climactic battle scene was shot. |
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Disney
to brings its princesses to India
To capitalize on the booming cartoon-based toys retail market here, Walt Disney has entered into an agreement with Funskool India to retail its range of toy merchandise, which includes its Princess Collection of Dolls and Role-Play sets. Funskool will thus launch the internationally popular Disney 'Princess' Dolls and Role-Play sets this year. The products are priced between Rs 299 to Rs 649 for dolls and between Rs 199 to Rs 1500 for role-play sets, a Disney release said. "The move represents another significant step in the company's business strategy in India. With the demand growing for contemporary cartoon based toys in the Indian market, this arrangement will prove beneficial to both Disney's famous 'Disney Princess' range that are a huge rage in the international markets and to Funskool," said Rajat Jain, Managing Director, Walt Disney Television (India). Jain said they were confident that the products, hugely popular worldwide, would appeal to little girls in the age group of 3-9 years. Under the agreement, Funskool will also manufacture board games and puzzles from their facility in Goa. |
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Saturday October 15, 2005 |
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A recreational scuba diver, Tiger Woods
recently revealed in a Golf Channel interview that he can hold
his breath for four minutes. Pretty impressive.
But the folks running the Funai Classic at Walt Disney World have been bluish in the face for a week, waiting for Woods to add his name to the commitment list for the $4.4 million PGA Tour event. As he sometimes does, Woods didn't call until the 11th hour, joining the field shortly before Friday's deadline, when the 144-player field for next week was cemented. Never a doubt, right? Not really, but . . . "It's kind of like when you were young, and the best-looking girl in school says, 'Pick me up at 5 at my house,' " Disney tournament director Kevin Weickel said. "Then you're praying that she's actually there when you knock on the door at 5. Nothing's ever a sure thing." But Woods' participation at Disney comes close. Until last fall, when he was on his honeymoon, Woods had played at Disney every year since turning pro in 1996, winning twice. Coupled with the fact that Disney is hosting a clinic for his charitable foundation today, it seemed fairly certain that he'd be joining fellow Big Five stars Vijay Singh and Retief Goosen, who committed earlier. With Ernie Els on the disabled list, Disney's 35th tournament will feature three of the top four healthy players in the world rankings. Shaking off a one-victory season in 2004, Woods has claimed two majors among his six victories this year, the most wins he's amassed since 2000. He leads the money list by nearly $2.2 million over Singh, who will need a huge rally in his last three tournaments to capture his third straight money crown. Not that it couldn't happen: Singh won the Disney title in 2003 and was second last year. But Woods, in eight starts at Disney, has five top-five finishes. Woods has posted rounds in the 60s in 25 of 32 career rounds at Disney, including 18 of his last 19. His scoring average of 67.63 strokes stands as the best in tournament history. "I've had good success there, and I look forward to returning," Woods said on his Web site Friday. Goosen, who will play the last three events of the year, finished 18th in 2003 in his lone Disney appearance. Between the trio, Woods, Singh and Goosen have won 13 times on the PGA or European circuits this year. The field also features two of the season's most interesting players: rookie-of-the-year frontrunner Sean O'Hair, whose family lives in Lakeland, and the underdog who almost stole the U.S. Open title, Jason Gore. The latter has won four PGA Tour-sanctioned tournaments since June. The field includes several other area notables, including Heathrow's Chris DiMarco, the Presidents Cup hero who stands a career-best seventh in earnings. Orlando-area residents Charles Howell, Bart Bryant, Stuart Appleby, Trevor Immelman and Peter Lonard also are entered. The event begins Thursday at Disney's Palm and Magnolia courses. Funai Classic field at Disney's Palm and Magnolia courses Thursday - Oct. 23 |
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Latest
photo's from Everest at Animal Kingdom
Here are some of the latest photo's from Animal Kingdom's Everest. Checkout the shrine to the Yeti, could this finally be a first look at what the Yeti will look like? Perhaps, and word from the man himself "Joe Rhode" is the Yeti is on site, in pieces. The fur has been given a texture/coloring that will essentially camouflage it for a surreal effect. So now only time can tell. |
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Hollywood's Miramax Films has sealed a deal to
distribute British director Stephen Frears' controversial
drama about how the royal family coped with the death of
Princess Diana in the United States.
Industry bible Daily Variety said Friday that the studio had secured the rights to "The Queen," which is currently being filmed in Britain with Helen Mirren as Queen Elizabeth II, American James Cromwell as Prince Philip and Michael Sheen as Prime Minister Tony Blair. The film, written by Peter Morgan, focuses on the royal family in the aftermath of Princess Diana's death in a car accident in Paris in August 1997. Miramax, a Walt Disney Co. unit originally founded by Tinseltown heavyweights Harvey and Bob Weinstein who left the firm earlier this year, said the film would premiere next year but that no US release date had been set. |
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Ex-offenders
will receive another chance at job fair
A job fair to link ex-offenders with
prospective employers is planned from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.
Saturday at the Pine Hills Community Center, 6408 Jennings
Road. |
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Hollywood
Calls for Cut of Video IPod Pie
In a show of unity, five unions representing actors, writers and directors issued a joint call for talks to make sure their members get a cut of revenue generated by the sale of TV shows on Apple's iTunes software. The unions sent a clear message to TV producers. "We have not yet heard from the responsible employers of our members," their joint statement said. "But we look forward to a dialogue that ensures that our members are properly compensated for this exploitation of their work." The presidents of unions representing Hollywood writers and actors were lunching at a popular Beverly Hills restaurant on Wednesday when they saw a TV report about a deal to allow episodes of ABC shows such as "Lost" to be downloaded for portable viewing on the new video iPod from Apple Computer Inc. In doing the deal with Apple, ABC became the first network to allow viewers to download episodes of their shows the day after they air on TV. Other networks are expected to follow shortly. The development was news to Patric Verrone, president of the Writers Guild of America, west, and John Connolly, president of the American Federation of Television & Radio Artists. The two called their counterparts at the Screen Actors Guild, Directors Guild of America and the Writers Guild of America, East, which covers writers east of the Mississippi. The show of unity was unusual, coming from unions that are sometimes at odds over issues such as royalties from DVD sales. "We developed a new piece of stationary that never existed before," Verrone said of the joint statement. The unions have not yet called ABC or its parent, The Walt Disney Co., to discuss how much of the $1.99 that Apple is charging for a single episode should go to writers, actors and directors. "The guilds are our business partners, and we always welcome a dialogue with them on any business-related issue that affects their members," ABC said in a statement. The groups already have agreements that cover the re-use of their work on the Internet or in "pay per view" models, such as video on demand. The unions also have newer agreements covering work produced for the Internet. |
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Enjoy
high-profile life down on Wisteria Lane
Mehcad Brooks likes being Wisteria Lane's
latest hunk. Just don't ask him what's in the basement. |
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Make-A-Wish
sends Springville girl to Disney World
It felt like a rock concert. The lights were out, hundreds of teenagers were screaming, loud explosions of noise came from the speakers and the energy and excitement was palpable in anticipation built for the main event. But in the Springville High School auditorium Thursday morning, the cheering and clapping were for an 8-year-old girl and her family. And in the midst of the standing ovations and the spotlighted performers, were tears. On Thursday, Lauren Ostler's wish came true, and her father, Springville High welding teacher Brian Ostler was reminded once again why he loves his students -- because they, in an annual project with the Make-A-Wish Foundation, are sending Lauren, who has cystic fibrosis, to Disney World for her birthday. For her family, though, this meant much more. "The thing about it is, we know her time on Earth is short," her teary-eyed father told hundreds of teenagers, many of whom were listening to the atypical lesson from a welding teacher with tears in their eyes. "Make sure you always let the loved ones in your life know how you feel. "We're going to be able to have some times as a family to get away from things for a while," he told the packed auditorium, his voice breaking with emotion as he hugged Lauren and thanked the students and faculty. Student council adviser Brenda Burr said she suggested working with Make-A-Wish three years ago. Her son's wish for a keyboard was granted when he was 16, and she wanted to help the organization, she said. Lauren is the third child whose wish they've granted, although the first to have such close ties. "This year we went to them and said, 'Hey, we've got one right here at our school,'" she said. "This year is just extra special, to be able to do it for our very own." The announcement was supposed to be a surprise, although Brian Ostler, when he made the announcement, said he knew many people had already guessed who this year's recipient was. Then he brought Lauren on-stage to share her wish -- a week with her family in Florida to experience Universal Studios and the Magic Kingdom. "I'm just elated," Brian Ostler said. "I think this year you'll see an even greater outpouring from the students than in the past, because I feel like they're just part of my family." Florida wasn't her first choice, Lauren said. She wanted to go to Australia, but the foundation requires overseas travelers to be at least 12 years old. "That kinda broke my heart," she said. "Luckily we found a different wish that we could do." Lauren, a third-grader at Art City Elementary School, was diagnosed with cystic fibrosis when she was 2 years old. Brian Ostler talked about the disease his whole family lives with each day and how it affects them. Their lives are filled with doctor's appointments, several types of medicines and treatments and constant worries about what to do and what not to do. "It's a high maintenance disease," he said. Cystic fibrosis is a genetic disease that affects about 30,000 people nationwide, according to the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation. A defective gene causes unusually thick, sticky mucus to clog the lungs, which can cause life-threatening lung infections. The mucus also prevents digestive enzymes from reaching the pancreas and helping to break down and absorb nutrients, so Lauren, a petite child, has to consume about 3,000 calories daily, which is 50 percent more than an average adult needs. Additionally, twice a day for 20 minutes she's hooked up to a machine that vibrates her lungs and clears out the mucus, as well as making her voice vibrate, which she willingly demonstrated. Lauren also takes about 10 enzymes a day. She's limited in the physical activities she can do because she may have difficulty breathing. All of this, her father added, was on a healthy day. After the assembly, Lauren was surrounded by students who wanted to meet her, hug her and tell her how excited they are for her. She also talked to another special guest -- Alan Windley, the 18-year-old man whose wish Springville High granted last year. In addition to the Make-A-Wish announcement, Springville High made some other donations Thursday. Sixty girls and one teacher donated their hair to Locks of Love, with the school counting down to the first snipping of the scissors and cheering as girls held up their shorn braids. Student body president Zac Jensen joined the girls on stage at the end of the assembly, insisting he was not crying as he spoke. "I hope you guys feel the love that I'm feeling right now," he said. "But it's not about us. It's about Lauren and granting her wish." The school has provided a number of ways to donate money. Today is Dollar Day at Springville High; everyone is asked to donate a dollar or more and get their names on stars in the wish hallway. Spare change buckets are spread throughout the school for people to donate. Also, the Halloween Carnival is from 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. Monday at Springville High. |
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Here's
looking at you, 'Housewives'
Sixty people are gathered in the third-floor dining room at La Tasca, a tapas bar on a trendy strip of Wilson Boulevard here in suburban Washington, D.C. And while the $1 sangrias and half-price Catalan custard cream are lures, what they've really come for is the latest gossip on another hip street. Wisteria Lane. ABC's hit Desperate Housewives has given birth to a cult following, and these fans, glued to two big-screen TVs here on a recent Sunday night, weren't disappointed. When control-queen Bree slaps her mother-in-law, Phyllis — in the middle of a restaurant, no less — hoots and hollers and cheers fill the room. Another round of sangrias, señor! In the show's second season, La Tasca is reserving the third floor solely for Desperate Housewives fans on Sunday nights, many calling ahead to claim specific tables with good sight lines — tables that will be littered with empty glasses by episode's end. "It was a slow start at first," La Tasca manager Christopher Novashinski says of the first season. "But every week it grew." Now Desperate Housewives evenings are popping up all over. One bar, featured in the just-released DVD set of the first season, even held a Bree clothes-folding contest. Chicago's white-tablecloth Kit Kat Lounge & Supper Club on Halsted Street goes one better, offering up female impersonators on Sunday nights — think Joan Crawford as a desperate housewife — to entertain during commercial breaks. Similar evenings are being held in the club's sister property in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. The Desperate Housewives evenings recall those of 20 years ago when fans gathered to spend an hour with the folks of Dallas and Dynasty. Mary Carlson, a government contractor in Washington, D.C., says Desperate Housewives reminds her a bit of Dynasty. "It's so unrealistic and over the top," she says. But unlike the wealthy world of Dynasty, what she likes most is that Wisteria Lane is just an "everyday community." And though Dynasty attracted huge crowds in gay bars across the nation, Desperate Housewives seems to be attracting most everyone: straights, gays, men and women, most of them in their 20s and 30s. "It's like getting together at a sports bar to watch a game," says Ann Collins, a secretary for Chicago's HQ Global Workplaces and a Sunday night regular at the Kit Kat. "We cheer at big moments, and we're mad sometimes. But we have a real hoot." Last Sunday's dramas on Wisteria Lane — from the emergence of the mystery man locked in the basement to Gabrielle's rosebush hacking — caused the biggest hoots of all in the Windy City. "That's right!" yells Collins' friend Charmel Johnson, a high school teacher, in support of Gabrielle's horticultural efforts. She leans across the table to high-five Stephanie Piedallu, manager of the Lakeshore Athletic Club. Watching nearby at the so-crowded-you-couldn't-even-move bar were Ryan Hastings, an elementary school theater teacher, and Eric Kuhn, a computer programmer. Hastings recently moved from Charlotte and Googled a place where he could watch his favorite show. "If you can mix half-priced martinis with Desperate Housewives, what more could you really ask for?" he says, eyes soon glued to the screen. Even wait staffers stand silently to the side, watching and laughing, hustling food and drink during commercials when the conversation picks up and fans race to the restrooms. Hastings used to go to local bars in Charlotte to watch Sex and the City but finds Housewives a superior substitute. "The ladies of Wisteria Lane have totally taken over my love for the women of Sex and the City," he says. "The women are more powerful. They get what they want." "It is taking the place of Sex and the City," agrees Elizabeth Trace, who works in hotel sales and was with four housemates who arrived at Arlington's La Tasca on a Sunday night earlier this month to grab a prime viewing table. "There's a lot more intrigue, though, with Desperate Housewives. And the new people who move to Wisteria Lane always have secrets." But unlike Sex, Desperate gatherings seem to attract almost as many male viewers as women. Many were brought along by girlfriends and acquaintances. In Chicago, gay men made up a good portion of the crowd. (The Kit Kat is located in Boystown, the city's gay area.) No matter what the viewer's sexual orientation, the show's sexy, campy stars are the lure. "I love these women! My favorite is Marcia Cross," says 70-year-old Carlos Verdecia, an editor at The Washington Times who often meets friends at La Tasca, the Desperate evenings just being a bonus. As a European, Verdecia thinks the evenings are no-brainers. "It's the perfect hangout place. People come and eat tapas and drink good wine and watch American TV." Such gatherings enhance the viewing experience, says Montana Miller, an assistant professor at the Department of Popular Culture at Bowling Green (Ohio) State University. "People look for excuses to get together. It's healthy to have that kind of social contact," she says. But while Sex and the City brought women together to "re-create and re-enact those kinds of friendships," watching the dysfunctional relationships in Desperate Housewives offers a different dynamic. "I don't think people are looking at it as a model. I hope not, anyway!" Miller says. Whatever the motive, fans are showing up. Many diners didn't even know about the Kit Kat's Desperate Housewives evenings but were thrilled with their discovery. Especially during the commercials, when the club cranks up the music and disco lights and a drag queen appears. Delores Van Cartier, a female impersonator in a long, red-sequined gown, brings whistles from the patrons, many slipping dollar bills into her dress. If that wasn't enough, Terese Murphy wanders the crowd, armed with a deck of kitschy Housewives Tarot cards to tell fortunes. Death is a jar of spoiled mayonnaise; Strength, Brillo pads; Judgment, a woman standing on a scale; The Devil, a cigarette-smoking chocolate cake with a woman's legs. And helping the evening along are martinis named for the show's stars: Bree's Key Lime Pie martini, Lynette's Lollipop martini, Susan's Coco Loco martini and Gabrielle's Gone South of the Border martini. Such evenings were supposed to be one-time-only deals. Twice at the most. The Kit Kat Club held Desperate Housewives nights for the finale of the first season and the premiere of the second. Now it can't get out of the Sunday night business. "We don't have too much of a choice!" says manager and co-owner Edward Gisiger. "It's a staple now." The premiere evening in September attracted close to 100 people (the club seats 75), and the next day people began calling for preferred tables for the following Sunday. Gisiger's problem now is that people don't move along when the show is on, leaving those with later reservations to wait for a table. The club also held a "Most Desperate Housewife" contest, the prize being a $1,500 certificate for spa treatments. The winner of the 30-words-or-less essay contest confessed that if she didn't get to a spa soon, she'd kill her husband. Erin Culbertson, a law student at D.C.'s George Washington University, rented all the episodes from last season and "caught up." Now she's ready to start the new season at La Tasca. "It's a nice way to start the week ... and it's a nice way to fill the gap left by Sex and the City." She hopes to make it a Sunday night tradition. Her friend Nelson Wagner, a law student at Georgetown University seeing his first Desperate episode this night, isn't so sure he'll stick with the show for the whole season. "A law student doesn't have much time for TV." Jarrett Miller, an Army sergeant sitting with a table of military colleagues at La Tasca, sees another problem. "Well, Sunday night football starts at 9, so ..." |
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Walt
Disney Pictures Presents Chicken Little
Oregon - WHO: Mickey Mouse and his
new pal, Chicken Little |
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Friday October 14, 2005 |
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A train collision on a Disney California
Adventure roller coaster that sent 17 riders to the hospital
was caused by air leaks in the ride's braking system,
according to a report released Thursday.
The riders were injured when one rail car on the California Screamin' roller coaster rear-ended another on July 29. Authorities said at the time that most of those hurt were treated for minor neck and back injuries and released from the hospital that same night. The crash was investigated by the California Division of Occupational Safety and Health, which recommended that Disney review the way it inspects the ride. "We've asked (Disney officials) to review their inspection process," said Cal-OSHA spokesman Dean Fryer. "They had done some inspections and were aware of some leaks." Walt Disney Parks and Resorts Chief Safety Officer Greg Hale said his crews have "taken the necessary corrective actions," that Cal-OSHA called for in its report. The ride, which was closed after the accident, will reopen Friday, Disney spokesman Rob Doughty said. |
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California
Screamin' At Disney's California Adventure Open Today
California Screamin', the high speed roller coaster at Disney's California Adventure park, will open today after nearly three months of being closed after an accident injured more than 30 people on the ride in July. Cal-OSHA determined that the cause of the accident was due to a lack of air pressure on the braking system that allowed one car to crash into the back of another. Disney said that all the necessary work has been done to fix this problem and they are happy to announce it's opening today. The ride will open at 10 AM along with the park opening. |
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Enhanced
Disney cruise ship returns to service
After 10 days in dry dock, the Disney Magic cruise ship will return to service Oct. 15 with some new features. The cost for the upgrades was not disclosed. The 2,700-passenger Magic, the company's original ship, has renovated its Vista Spa and Salon, adding three private indoor/outdoor treatment rooms for use by individuals or couples and expanded its fitness center by 1,700 square feet, bringing the total space to 10,700 square feet. Three conference rooms have been converted into additional space for youth activities, bringing the number of dedicated kids-only areas to five. A new 24-by-14-foot jumbo-screen television, totaling 336 square feet, will provide poolside movies. Disney Cruise Line offers three-, four- and seven-night itineraries to the Bahamas and the Caribbean, cruising from Port Canaveral. The Disney Magic is adding a seven-night alternate Western Caribbean itinerary next year. |
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ABC's
use of college interns for investigation angers colleges
ABC News is drawing fire for using college interns in an investigative report that alleges lax security at nuclear reactors on 25 U.S. college campuses. The Primetime Live report examines how close those interns were able to get to the reactors, theorizing the facilities could be vulnerable to terrorists who could set off bombs that release radiation into the atmosphere. ABC said its interns found unlocked doors, saw unmanned security booths and, in some cases, were given guided tours that gave them access to control rooms and reactor pools. Officials at Kansas State and Ohio State universities expressed anger about the report before its scheduled airing Thursday. "We are concerned that interns, college students, were placed in a position where they were dishonest about their roles and intentions," Terry King, dean of Kansas State's engineering school, said in a letter. ABC said its interns were instructed not to lie. Two students each from Columbia, Northwestern, Harvard, Southern California and California-Berkeley universities were working at ABC News as part of an internship program financed by the Carnegie Corp. and the Knight Foundation. They were assigned to the project and supervised by reporter Brian Ross and his investigative team — and were picked, in part, because they looked the part. "The day has long since passed that I could pass as a college student," said Ross, 56. They were told to go to the reactor facilities, say they were graduate students interested in nuclear power, and ask if they could look around. They carried regular cameras, not TV cameras, and did not say they were from ABC News. They weren't being untruthful, Ross said. Ohio State and Kansas State officials say they give tours because, as educational facilities, it's their job to spread the word about how nuclear energy is being used. Saying the interns were able to get close to the facility is "like coming to my driveway and saying, 'Guess what? I just got into McDonald's!'" said Earle Holland, Ohio State senior director for research communications. At Ohio State, security procedures were correctly followed, and the interns had their bags searched and held during the tour. The tour was ended because one of the interns attempted to take a placard that listed security precautions in case of a bomb scare, he said. At Kansas State, officials anticipated the visit; word had gotten around the small nuclear research community that reporters saying they were students had approached facilities. The students were given a tour anyway, even though this was later cited by ABC an example of a potential security risk. The interns flirted with security officers to try to get in, said Ken Shultis, Kansas State's nuclear energy program director. The guards flirted back, since they were trying to get the interns to pose for a picture they wanted to provide to the FBI. Both university officials said the interns should have identified themselves as being from ABC News. "I think the ethics is somewhat questionable," Shultis said. "It's a fine point when they were trying to misdirect or mislead." But ABC said it's likely they would have been treated differently as reporters. The point was to show how a terrorist could pose as a student and easily be a threat, Ross said. "We were students," said Dana Hughes, a Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism student who worked on the project. "We were interested in the programs. We did not hide our cameras. We were hiding in plain sight. It wasn't as sneaky as they were making it out to be." If all it took to get into facilities was talking like a student or flirting, "some people could find that a questionable line of defense," she said. Alex Jones, director of the Joan Shorenstein Center on the Press, Politics and Public Policy at Harvard, which provided two of the interns, said he didn't want to prejudge ABC's report. "I don't think there's anything wrong with finding out whether minimal security was being observed at nuclear facilities, providing you didn't misrepresent yourself," he said. "And from what I understand, none of these students did." Ross said it wasn't a case of the interns being taught "gotcha" journalism instead of investigative journalism. The students did a great deal of research into the nuclear programs before going to the universities, he said. The students didn't embark on the project with a specific result in mind. "A lot of them were hoping that they didn't find these stories," he said. Two of the students have subsequently gotten jobs at ABC News and Ross said he hoped the network would hire more. |
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Holiday
Cheer At The Disneyland Resort
As its 50th Anniversary "Happiest Celebration on Earth" continues in full swing, the Disneyland Resort will be decked out for the holidays with dazzling décor, magical parades, and festive shows and attractions every day from November 11 through January 2. Extended park hours for Disneyland and Disney's California Adventure will be in effect for much of the season, and Downtown Disney District and the Disneyland Resort hotels will join in the fun with twinkling lights and ornaments, special entertainment and holiday dining. Disneyland Disneyland will continue to showcase its 50th Anniversary throughout the Christmas season, and will add to the golden lineup with an array of holiday shows, seasonal attractions and lively entertainment. New this year is "Santa's Reindeer Round-Up" at Big Thunder Ranch in Frontierland. The ranch will be transformed into a "West Pole" getaway where Santa will unwind with Mrs. Claus and his team of reindeer. Kids and their families can chat with St. Nick, see real reindeer grazing in a corral, play some reindeer games, create take-home Yuletide souvenirs and join in holiday line dances with music from a Western trio. "Haunted Mansion Holiday" returns with a madcap celebration where the traditions of Halloween and Christmas collide. The ghoulish but well-meaning Jack Skellington from the film "Tim Burton's The Nightmare Before Christmas" has come to the "Haunted Mansion" to transform it with his skewed vision of the holidays. The park's annual holiday parade, "A Christmas Fantasy," will be presented November 18 through January 1 on Main Street, U.S.A. This ever-popular procession depicts an enchanting collection of holiday scenes, music and a cast of Disney characters and performers in Yuletide vignettes. Toy soldiers march in cadence, friendly snowmen dance and Santa waves from a soaring sleigh as his reindeer prance below. In Fantasyland, the classic "it's a small world" will again become "it's a small world Holiday" with a seasonal overlay that transforms this favorite Disneyland attraction into a holiday trip around the world. More than 300,000 glittery lights adorn the attraction's façade. The park will be trimmed with wreaths, lights, garland and other décor, and strolling holiday performers, including the Dickens Carolers, will make musical merriment all season long. Disneyland's 50th Anniversary entertainment includes the all-new nightly fireworks spectacular, "Remember… Dreams Come True," the most elaborate pyrotechnics display in Disneyland history featuring an amazing new flight path for Tinker Bell. During the holidays, "Remember" will conclude with a stirring rendition of "White Christmas" as a magical snowfall gently flutters down on Main Street, U.S.A., Small World Mall and New Orleans Square. "Walt Disney's Parade of Dreams" continues daily on Main Street, U.S.A., immersing guests in the musical grandeur and visual spectacle of this innovative Disney parade. Within the high-speed "Space Mountain" in Tomorrowland, guests will discover new special effects, a redesigned Spaceport and other surprises, while intergalactic adventurers can battle the evil Emperor Zurg in the new "Buzz Lightyear Astro Blasters" attraction. Disney's California Adventure Disney's California Adventure will celebrate the season with enhanced park-wide decorations and expanded entertainment offerings. At the new "Block Party Bash," music and excitement are cranked to the max for this high-energy street extravaganza as Disney presents the Pixar Film pals, who invite guests to dance and play as they party along the performance corridor. Performed daily, this wild block party entertains with a non-stop musical parade that doubles as an interactive street spectacular. Also new is "Turtle Talk with Crush" at the "Disney Animation" exhibit in Hollywood Pictures Backlot. Starring Crush, the sea turtle from the hit Disney/Pixar film "Finding Nemo," this incredible experience gives guests the chance to chat and joke with the animated sea turtle. Sunshine Plaza will become "Santa's Beach Blast," where the Disney characters playfully blend classic holiday images with the California beach lifestyle. Santa the surfer will greet guests near a Woody wagon sleigh, and the area will be filled with seaside-style holiday decorations. The park's lands will glow with Yuletide cheer day and night. At Flik's Fun Fair, Flik and his bug buddies will spread giant Christmas lights, oversized ornaments and towering candy canes throughout their realm. Alongside Paradise Bay, a resplendent Christmas tree will provide a dazzling sight as other nearby trees sparkle with hundreds of lights and wreathes adorn lampposts. |
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More
Information on the Cruisin' DCA Tour
Disneyland Resort - The new Cruisin' DCA Segwey Tour begins tomorrow, October 15th. The tour costs $80 (AP and CM discounts are available). Guests must be at least 16 years old and weigh no more than 250 pounds. The tour starts 2 hours prior to park opening and there is one tour per day holding 12 people. Tours can be reserved up to 30 days in advance by calling 714-781-4400. |
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Disney’s
2005 light spectacle will feature even more lights
Putting up those millions of lights at the annual Osborne Family Spectacle of Lights takes months to complete, even if they don’t screw those bulbs in one light at a time. The lighting process actually begins in August, said show producer Chris Pieser, at a recent behind-the-scenes look at the dazzling display of lights held annually at the Disney-MGM Studios. There are now so many lights in the display, which originally was part of a huge neighborhood holiday display begun by Jennings Osborne in Arkansas, that Disney officials have given up counting. “We just say millions and millions,” said Pieser. The lights don’t officially come on until Nov. 14. And while almost 75 percent of the light show was complete by early October, there is still plenty of behind-the-scenes work to be done, said Pieser. The elaborate show requires a team of 18 electricians 14 weeks to hang all those lights on the Streets of America backlit at the theme park. Counting the actual number of lights has become practically an impossibility, especially since the lights are hung in thousands of separate strings. The huge display requires nearly 12 miles of extension cord, he said. And Disney workers start from scratch each year with all new strings of lights from China. “Bulbs burn out and the brightness fades,” he said, so it is easier to have an all-new display each year. To get an idea of just how many lights there are at the Osborne display, consider that just one 70-foot tree contains 80,000 lights. Add to that the numerous buildings, a blue night sky and a dazzling 30,000-light red canopy, and the numbers soon become staggering. It’s hard to believe that the whole thing began some 18 years ago when Osborne set up his first display of a couple of thousand lights at home to please his young daughter. He liked the results so much that it soon grew to a million lights and then he bought the homes on both sides of his residence so he could put up more than 3.5 million lights. The display attracted so much attention that other neighbors couldn’t even get to their homes so Disney and Osborne decided to move the whole thing to the Disney Studio in 1995. There are now many more lights at Disney than there ever was in Little Rock, but many of the essential elements from his original displays remain intact, including the large globe, numerous flashing angels and revolving carousels and the red canopy that used to cover his driveway. All those lights continue to stun and delight the thousands and thousands of visitors who view it each year at the theme park. “We see so many amazed looks on faces,” said Pieser, “and some huge wows when the snow starts falling.” The snow element is made by using a snow fluid mixture each evening. Pieser said that 66 gallons of snow fluid are required each night to create the snowfall effect. One of the key things to look out for at this year’s display, and it will be easy to notice, is the new LED lighting on the town hall building. The new lights burn with a greater intensity and have a bonus effect, even Disney technicians didn’t expect — the lights give the building a 3D effect. Pieser said Osborne still has a lot of input on the light show and offers his suggestions. He and his family — actually it is a whole entourage — spend more than a week at the Disney complex each year to take in the show. Jennings also continues to light up Arkansas on his own. He has donated light displays to some 30 towns across the state. The Osborne Family Spectacle of Lights has been extended to 56 nights this year, Nov. 14-Jan. 8. In addition to the lights, the Disney Studios will also have daily showings of the Hollywood Holly-Day par-ade. Holiday activities are included in Disney-MGM Studios admission. |
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Disney
pays gallery for its name
What a stroke of luck! The entertainment giant wanted the rights to screen a children's art show of the same name but the Mollers had already filed an application for the New Zealand trademark. But after two years of legal negotiations, Disney now owns the name outright, and the Mollers are enjoying the fruits of a financial settlement they understood was considered by some intellectual-property lawyers as one of the highest they had seen. Mr Moller spent yesterday removing the signs from his gallery in Tinakori Rd, Wellington. Their other premises at Paraparaumu Beach and Palmerston North will also have to be changed. It will be a small price to pay after agreeing terms to the confidential payout. Asked whether it was a six-figure sum, Mr Moller replied: "Something like that." It was a real windfall – "totally unexpected and out of the blue". "We could have chosen some completely different name and been none the richer." The deal was negotiated via lawyers for London's HIT Entertainment, which owns TV brands such as Bob the Builder and Thomas the Tank Engine. Its subsidiary Media Merchants makes Art Attack and Disney holds the Australasian airing rights. The show started screening on Sky's Disney Channel last year while Disney was still chasing sole New Zealand rights. Wellington intellectual-property lawyer Kate Duckworth, of Baldwins, who represented Disney Entertainment, would not confirm whether legal costs were part of the settlement terms but said they could have been used "as a yardstick". It was an interesting case, she said. "On each side you've got interesting parties. One is one of the largest entertainment producers . . . and behind Art Attack New Zealand is a local artist." |
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Disney
on Ice's 'Nemo' sure to hook you
Hundreds of children and their parents found
Disney on Ice's "Finding Nemo," to be a delightful
two-hour show Wednesday at the El Paso County Coliseum. |
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Great
Day to Be a Frog: Kermit residents open their arms to His
Greenness
KERMIT -- The founding fathers of this small town can thank Teddy Roosevelt's son for their original namesake. Its present-day residents can thank Jim Henson for putting it on the map. Kermit has never been like it was Friday when it welcomed the world's most famous amphibian and his entourage. The frog was treated like a prince by the 5,700 townspeople, who rolled out the green carpet in high-hoppin' fashion for His Greenness. As one harried school teacher said as she bustled to help oversee over 500 school children who were dismissed early for the downtown festivities, "Everything's frog." "These are salt of the earth people," Kermit said in a post-celebration interview. "Where else could you come and have people treat you so well?" Kermit, mysteriously traveling sans Miss Piggy, said it was helpful to be in a town that also bore his name. "Makes it easy to remember," he said as he set out on a 50-city tour celebrating his 50th birthday. The frog's first leap landed him in Kermit, a town that couldn't seem to do enough for the lovable Muppet. An artist's rendering of Kermit's head was unveiled atop the city's water tower; a park was named after him, a street, too. Even pylons blocking off downtown were, you guessed it, green. Kermit was master of ceremonies at the Kermit High School homecoming parade and he was also to be crowned homecoming king at Friday's night's football game. Kermit was even read a lengthy proclamation by mayor Ted Westmoreland, designating Friday as Kermit the Frog Day. "Boy," Kermit said at the completion of the reading, "that's an awfully long proclamation for such a little frog." Kermit, Texas, was chosen by Disney officials, parent corporation of Kermit's creators, The Jim Henson Company, over Kermit, Va., a tiny village with only 200 people. "We're just happy to have that golden name," said Westmoreland, in his 13th year as Kermit mayor. "Something like this will make us known to the rest of the country. As only the best of mayors would, Westmoreland used the opportunity to pitch the benefits of living in Kermit, and he hopes an event like Friday's would become an annual event, further casting a postive green sheen on his town. "Kermit's a nice town with a wonderful climate," Westmoreland said. "We hope to make ourselves attractive to retirees and small business." We hope to make ourselves attrective to retirees and small business." Kermit Celebration Days was the culmination of almost three months of hard and orchestrated volunteer efforts. Work started even before Disney made it official that their famous frog would be there. "This will put us on the map," said Kermit Police Chief Ron Hoge, who was tasked with security and coordination of an inter-departmental police presence that included officers from Monahans, Odessa and Ward County. Disney had anticiptaed a crowd of as many 30,000 visitors, but by mid-day it was apparent that the number may be a bit smaller. Even though the crowd didn't appear to be what was expected, the mood was festive and for many, a day so big had never been seen, and may never again come around, a distinction that for Kermit's publicist, Danielle Clark, was daunting. "Wow ... more than anything, to be a part of something like is an honor," said Clark, who prior to representing Kermit was a publicist who worked with Halle Berry and Hillary Duff. She said despite having worked for those two megastars, she had never seen such celebration around a star as she had Friday in Kermit. When the Green One's duties are complete in Kermit, he'll next be honored at the NASA Space Center, south of Houston. Kermit's Birthday tour, which will take him around the globe, will conclude in 15 months. Steve Whitmire, the creative voice and talent behind the Kermit, will be along for the entire ride. Whitmire became the breath and life of Kermit after Jim Henson's death in 1990. |
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A tasty
surprise
The Epcot International Food and Wine
Festival lowers food prices and increases portions |
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Disneyland
Resort and the City of Anaheim Announce Inaugural 2006
Disneyland Half Marathon Weekend
The 'Happiest Race on Earth' Takes Runners Through Disneyland and Angel Stadium Feed Date:
Friday, October 14, 2005 Other events during the weekend will include the Disneyland Family Fun Run 5K & Kids' Races and the Disneyland Health & Fitness Expo at the Disneyland Hotel. The Disneyland Health and Fitness Expo will feature celebrity runner appearances, the latest trends in running apparel, technology and fitness equipment along with seminars on training, racing and nutrition, and will be open to the public free of charge. The weekend is built off the successful 13-year history of The Walt Disney World Marathon that is operated by Disney's Wide World of Sports in Lake Buena Vista, Fla. Registration for the 2006 Disneyland Half Marathon begins Oct. 15, 2005, and participants may register online at www.disneylandhalfmarathon.com. The Happiest Race comes during Disneyland's 18-month long 50th Anniversary Celebration. |
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Thursday October 13, 2005 |
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Speculation emerges
after Apple, Disney collaborate on sale of ABC programs on new
video iPod.
A television
distribution deal between Apple Computer Inc. and Walt Disney
Co. that brought together CEOs Steve Jobs and Bob Iger has
stoked expectations that a separate agreement between Disney
and Jobs's Pixar Animation Studios Inc. is at hand.
Pixar shares rose as much as 3.7 percent Wednesday, rebounding from a sell-off in the media sector, after Iger and Jobs appeared on stage together to announce that Disney unit ABC would sell TV programs through Apple's iTunes Web site for viewing on computers and its new video iPod device. "I know these guys," Jobs joked just before Iger strode on stage to join him at the Apple event. Iger, the new technology-focused chief of Disney, and Jobs both called it a watershed event bringing TV to the Web and said they expected more cooperation between their companies. Their appearance also led many to guess that a new deal was in store between Pixar, which Jobs also heads, and Disney, that would extend their partnership for Disney to continue marketing and distributing Pixar's lucrative animated films. A Disney spokeswoman had no comment on Pixar. Jobs also declined Wednesday to comment on Pixar-Disney talks. But he did say: "I've enjoyed working with Disney for about 20 years now ... I've gotten to know Disney's CEO Bob Iger really well over the last few months." Sanders Morris Harris analyst David Miller said there had been a flare of speculation about a new deal. "This just proves that -- Pixar being down and now up -- the Street doesn't care about economic terms. They only care about another deal," Miller said. "If they (both) land a deal they can't lose and both stocks should go higher," Miller said. "If they permanently divorce Disney ... (Pixar's) net income would essentially double. We just don't think Pixar can lose." The two companies have long been engaged in on-again, off-again talks over a potential new distribution agreement that would extend their partnership, and they reentered talks as Iger prepared to assume the Disney CEO job from Michael Eisner, who had a rocky relationship with Jobs. Disney previously had rejected Pixar offers as bad deals for the bigger media firm, but investors punished Disney for failing to make a deal with the studio that has created a string of computer-animated hits from "Toy Story" to "Finding Nemo" and "The Incredibles." Disney's current agreement with Pixar expires next summer with the release of "Cars." Analysts expect Pixar to push for a distribution deal similar to "Star Wars" director George Lucas' agreement with Fox, in which case Pixar would pay a percentage of film revenue as a distribution fee and keep ownership of films and characters. Under the current agreement, Disney co-owns the films, and splits the profits with Pixar. Disney also effectively has sequel rights to the characters in the current deal. Pixar fell as low as $46.75, before rising to a high of $48.88 and closing up $1.19, or 2.5 percent, at $48.31 on Nasdaq. Disney edged down 42 cents, or 1.8 percent, to $23.35 on the NYSE. |
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Disney’s
new CEO: “If we sit back and rely on old technology, the
consumer is going to pass us by”
Robert Iger, the new appointed CEO of Disney, might have big shoes to fill by replacing the fallen King Michael Eisner. Most important, he needs to redirect Disney’s positioning and take into account the numerous new challenges of the ever-changing consumer market: a downturn in the core film business, the complications of expanding into foreign markets, particularly China and India-, and the urgency pressing upon all traditional media companies to reinvent their businesses for a new digital era. He is under pressure to devise new ways to drive growth. The 54-year-old executive inherits a company whose old way of doing business has been blown up by technology. “If we sit back and rely on old technology, the consumer is going to pass us by”, Mr. Iger says, noting the music industry made that mistake. He realizes that his biggest obstacles may be the business habits of Disney’s old employees and of theater owners, mass retailers, television affiliates and others. “We need to create an atmosphere that tolerates experimentation, even if it’s at the expense of near-term economics”. In Disney’s case, mass marketing is possibly not dead: its very profitable brand is a huge asset and the Magic Kingdom still appeals to children across the globe and with multiple social backgrounds. But Disney has to rethink how it reaches its audiences. The new technology allows companies, especially in the entertainment industry, to segment market their audience. For example, some viewers today watch video clips on cellular phones and use digital recorders that skip ads. Others watch entire seasons of a TV series on DVD, missing advertising altogether. These developments are shifting how companies reach viewers and how they set their business model based on advertising. Mass marketing that focuses on new movie releases and DVD sales needs to evolve now that the movie attendance is declining and the DVD sales stagnant. Per-per-view is on the rise as well as any type of audio and video-on-demand service, going through multiple channels: cable boxes, computers, cell phones, video games, rentals. Many marketing niches have been created with the availability and the successful penetration of new technology. Disney will have to tackle these new segments, perhaps by becoming a service provider instead of a product provider, filling up these new entertainment channels or else, the new consumer might well be passing by. |
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Drivers
protest free Disney shuttle service
More than 100 taxi and luxury-sedan drivers turned out Wednesday at Orlando International Airport to protest OIA's handling of Disney's Magical Express shuttle. The drivers, most of whom work as independent contractors or on their own, have complained that the free shuttle to the Walt Disney World resort has taken away their business at the airport. Those drivers say they rely heavily on business and leisure travelers making reservations for pick-up from the airport, but that the free shuttle has lured many clients away. Though they are prohibited from soliciting passengers at the airport, the drivers have complained that Disney was committing a similar offense with its "greeter" posted on the third level of the terminal. The airport has ordered Disney to remove those greeters by the end of the month. Disney has tried to point out the benefits of Magical Express, which transports about 5,000 people a day. It says the shuttle reduces traffic congestion and has reduced wait times in check-in and baggage lines at the airport. The program began in May and is scheduled to complete its trial at the end of 2006. |
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Hong Kong Disneyland said on Wednesday that
over 80 percent of its guests have rated the overall
experience at Hong Kong Disneyland as very good or excellent.
Don Robinson, group managing director of Hong Kong Disneyland, said in a press release that it has achieved similar ratings for park cleanness, cast friendliness and entertainment. It said similarly ,over 80 percent of the guests of its two hotels have rated a positive satisfaction and more than half said they intend to make a return visit. However, it still declined to reveal the detailed number of guests it has received in the past month. Robinson said, over the past month, Hong Kong Disneyland received thousands of guests including the first marriage proposal on grand opening day and several large family reunions destination that unites people and crates a lifetime of happy memories. He said, based on guest feedback over the past month, Hong Kong Disneyland has fine-tuned the park's operations to ensure the most magical experience possible for al guests. According to HK Disneyland, guests are choosing to purchase park tickets both on-line and the Hong Kong Disneyland Ticket Express Station at Hong Kong Station. The project of Hong Kong Disneyland was announced in 1999 and the construction began in 2003. It formally opened on Sept. 12. |
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ABC
Affiliates Complain About 'iPod' Videos
Ad-free episodes of ABC programs Lost,
Desperate Housewives, and Night Stalker will be
available on iTunes 6 for $1.99 each. Two Disney programs, That's
So Raven and The Suite Life of Zack & Cody,
also can be purchased for download to the latest creation from
Apple, the video iPod. |
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Disney
opens the Wardrobe door
The battle for family cinema-goers this Christmas began yesterday when the latest generation of British child stars were unveiled. The four - Georgie Henley, 10, Skandar Keynes, 14, William Moseley, 18, and Anna Popplewell, 16 - play the Pevensie children in The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe, Disney's $100 million screen adaptation of the best-known of C S Lewis's seven Narnia books. The book, first published in 1950, has previously only been serialised for television but the film company hopes that Narnia will prove to be as profitable as Tolkein's Middle-earth and The Lord of the Rings screen trilogy. Disney has decided to open the film in Britain on Dec 9 so as not to clash with the next J K Rowling film, Harry Potter and The Goblet of Fire, which arrives in cinemas next month. Generations of Britons will doubtless want to see if Disney has played true or false with C S Lewis's much-loved story of the four children who step into Narnia through a wardrobe and join the lion, Aslan, in his battle with the White Witch. Anna Popplewell, who plays Susan, said yesterday that she was confident the film, on which Douglas Gresham, C S Lewis's stepson, has been an adviser and which has the approval of the writer's estate, would not have Narnia fans tearing their hair out. She said: "Personally, I think that it has stayed very similar to the book and is very faithful to the spirit." Reaction to the film will be critical for Disney. The company wants to turn Narnia, like Middle-earth, into a brand by filming all seven books. It has, however, put off a decision until it can measure the box office success of the first film. |
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Strong
Debut for Disney’s Einsteins
The little ones and their parents turned up in a big way for the premiere of Disney Channel’s new preschool series, Little Einsteins. The show’s Oct. 9 debut at 7 p.m. delivered 2.4 million total viewers, more than any other “Playhouse Disney” series premiere. Attracting some 737,000 kids 2-5, it was also the program block’s highest-rated primetime event in five years in that target demo, according to Disney Channel officials. Building on its Monsters Inc. lead-in, the debut ranked first that day among all cable and broadcast outlets among kids 2-5, as well as boys and girls of that age group. Little Einsteins -- which regularly airs weekdays at 8 a.m. and 12:30 p.m. -- features four music-loving protagonists, Leo, Annie, Quincy and June, as well as their versatile pal, Rocket. They introduce kids to different lands and cultures. Produced by Curious Pictures, the series blends live-action images with two-dimensional character animation. |
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Changes
to Magical Express
As of November 1st: |
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Luxury
checks in at new Hong Kong hotels
Hong Kong's high-end hotel sector just got more luxurious with a spate of new openings and refurbishments designed to cash in on the Chinese city's newfound position as a top travel destination. Spurred by a strong economic recovery from almost seven years of decline, record growth in tourist arrivals and increasing foreign investment, the city got its first new hotels in 15 years this autumn. The much-anticipated Four Seasons business hotel and the Landmark Mandarin Oriental boutique hotel generated a groundswell of refurbishments at the city's other four- and five-star properties. As a result, the city now has arguably the best rooms in the world, travel industry experts say. "Hong Kong is now competing with the likes of London, Paris and New York. It rates very close to the top," Paul Husband, of Husband Retail Consulting, which specializes in luxury retail lets throughout Asia, told AFP. "New York may just pip it for variety but Hong Kong has the edge in service -- that's something all of Asia does very well," he adds. The sleek steel and glass Four Seasons was billed as Hong Kong's first six-star hotel ahead of its opening in September, a tag general manager William Mackay has studiously tried to avoid. "That was not us who came up with that," the Englishman says. "There is no standardized rating system and hotels that give themselves such awards base them on no objective criteria. "I don't even like to say we are a luxury hotel -- that implies an element of wastefulness," he adds. Nonetheless, the arrival of the 399-room Four Seasons -- and its associated serviced apartment block next door, Four Seasons Place -- heralded nothing short of a renaissance in the territory's business hotel sector. High-end property the Island Shangri-La completed a huge refurbishment program ahead of the opening and the venerable Mandarin Oriental embarked on a huge refit. Many of the city's four- and three-star properties also decided to up the ante. "I think the Four Seasons is very good for business because there is so much demand and it helps generate even more," said Island Shangri-La general manager Franz Donhauser. "There is a relation between the different strata of hotels -- if the five-stars get better then that tends to make the four-star hotels better and that brings up the three-star hotels," he added. Hong Kong's biggest year, for hotels at least, was 1997, when all rooms were filled with travelers curious to see the last days of the former British colony and the first days of China's resumed rule. Since then the sector has been plagued by an economy that slumped in the wake of the Asian economic crisis and the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) outbreak of 2003, which decimated the tourism industry. But growth in China, which fuels a resurgence in the local economy, has brought more international business travelers to the city, and industry professionals hope the opening last month of Hong Kong Disneyland will help boost leisure arrivals, especially from mainland China. The Hong Kong government now estimates a record 25 million people will come to the city this year, making it the second-most visited Asian destination after China. With recovering demand for tourism in Hong Kong, Thailand is unlikely to see 13 million visitors this year, according to the Tourism Authority of Thailand. Meanwhile, the Landmark Mandarin Oriental, a smaller 119-room property in the heart of downtown, is hoping to clean up in the high-end leisure market, filling a yawning gap in the boutique market. "Hong Kong's hotels are responding to the city's economic buoyancy," said luxury retail specialist Husband. "The long-term view of Hong Kong when you put together what it has to offer -- and combine that with the casinos in Macau and the big convention centers opening nearby -- is a compelling global offering," he added. That's great news for the likes of Island Shangri-La's Donhauser, who predicts this year will be the best on record for his hotel. "There is just so much happening in Hong Kong's favor at the moment," he said. |
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Lilo
and Stitch join Ohana restaurant
Some new character friends have joined
Mickey Mouse for breakfast at `Ohana in Disney's Polynesian
Resort. Say "aloha" (hello) to Lilo, Stitch and
Pluto ... and say "aloha" (good-bye) to Chip, Dale
and Goofy. |
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Disney
Channel launches 'Higglytown Heroes' for pre-schoolers
Playhouse Disney, the preschooler’s destination on Disney Channel has lined up a novel portrayal of a “hero” for kids with the launch of Higglytown Heroes. Based on ‘the whole-child curriculum’ for preschool learning, Higglytown Heroes is an educational series that uses, humour, music and problem solving to teach preschoolers about sharing and caring roles that people play in their community. The show is a surefire inspiration to get little boys and girls up and about trying to make a better life for them and for the world they live in. Community understanding is the emphasis of the show, where kids get an insight into their daily life heroes like Zoo keepers, fire-fighters, policemen etc. The show airs on Disney Channel’s daily preschool destination Playhouse Disney, at 9.30 am and 1 pm on weekdays. Commenting on the introduction of this new and innovative series on Disney Channel, Walt Disney Television International - India director programming and production Nachiket Pantvaidya said, “The colorful and realistic animation in this series is fabulous. The show will certainly have immense appeal for preschoolers their parents and caregivers due to its content quality and learning quotient. There is a hero in everyone and this show conveys similar inspiration to kids through hallmark Disney storytelling.” Higglytown is a town filled with everyday heroes including the Postman, the Fireman and the Bus Driver. Eubie, Wayne, Twinkle, Kip, and Fran are the protagonists of the show, who go out in life to try and become a Higglytown Hero. |
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Disney
TV set for agency overhaul
Disney TV is staging a review of its entire UK agency roster as it seeks to bolster its popularity against stiff competition from rivals Nickelodeon and Cartoon Network. Disney TV V-P of comms, EMEA Siobhan Kenny,
who joined in July from the Department for Culture, Media and
Sport, said: 'We are operating in a highly competitive market.
It is a multi-channel world and everyone is looking for some
kind of stand-out.' |
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Disney
offers real-world experience
The Disney College Program offers paid
internships that boast of hands-on, real-world experience for
students who yearn for more than an education obtained in a
classroom. |
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Wednesday October 12, 2005 |
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A former Disney worker climbed to the roof of
the Hong Kong park's most popular attraction and threatened to
slash his throat to protest his dismissal, a Disney
spokeswoman and newspaper reports said Wednesday.
The 48-year-old man, a former security guard at the theme park, climbed to the top of the building housing the Space Mountain roller coaster on Tuesday and remained there for two hours, Hong Kong Disneyland spokeswoman Esther Wong said. Photographs published in the Apple Daily newspaper showed the man sporting a white T-shirt with the words "blood," "reveal the truth" and "SOS" written in red paint. He was also shown placing a small penknife at his throat. The man was unhappy that he was fired three months ago for allegedly violating park rules, including using obscene language during working hours, the paper said. He climbed down unhurt after a two-hour negotiation with police and fire fighters, Wong confirmed. A Hong Kong trade union has received about 60 complaints of alleged labor abuse _ including long hours and lack of rest time _ from Hong Kong Disneyland employees since the park opened last month. But Labor Department spokesman Ricky Chan said Disney had not violated any labor laws. Wong stressed that the park has already made labor-related improvements after discussions with unionists. |
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ABC
jumping on iPod bandwagon
Apple Computer Inc. unveiled Wednesday an iPod capable of playing videos, evolving the portable music player of choice into a multimedia platform for everything from TV shows to music videos. Citing a groundbreaking deal with ABC Television Group, Apple chief executive Steve Jobs said the online iTunes store will sell episodes of hit shows "Desperate Housewives" and "Lost" for $1.99 each, making them available the day after they air on television for viewing on the new iPod's 2.5-inch color screen. |
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Disney
reportedly seeks court block of child TV changes
Walt Disney Co. (DIS) asked a federal appeals court Tuesday to block new federal rules requiring broadcasters to expand children's educational programming, saying the regulations violate the free speech rights of the company's ABC television network, The Los Angeles Times reported in its Wednesday editions. The new Federal Communications Commission rules expand programming requirements as broadcasters move further into digital transmission, and also restrict children's exposure to advertising. The lawsuit asks the court to order the FCC to reconsider the new rules by Nov. 15, or stay the FCC rules until the court can have a full hearing. TV station owners are required by the FCC to air between 7 a.m. and 10 p.m. three hours of educational programming for children 16 years and under, but starting in January, broadcasters will have to supply three hours each on the up to five digital channels they can multicast using digital technology, which also provides sharper pictures and better sound, the paper added. |
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Layoffs,
car-rental decline fuel shuttle debate
Beeline Ground Transportation, one of two
companies with shuttle concessions at Orlando International
Airport, said Monday it would lay off as many as 20 people
this week as it struggles to compete with Disney's Magical
Express. |
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Osborne
Family Spectacle of Lights dates extended
The Osborne Family Spectacle of Lights at Disney's MGM Studios dates have been extended. The display will now run from November 14th 2005 and continues through January 8th 2006. |
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El
Capitan Theatre Celebrates the Twelve Days of Tim Burton's
'The Nightmare Before Christmas' From Oct. 20-31
No Halloween season would be complete without a return engagement of Tim Burton's "The Nightmare Before Christmas" at Hollywood's legendary El Capitan Theatre, and this year's festivities get underway on Thursday October 20th with a night of ghoulish delights, it was announced today (10/12) by Lylle Breier, senior vice president of worldwide special events for Buena Vista Pictures Distribution. The film will play through Halloween Eve (October 31st). Also on the bill with "The Nightmare Before Christmas" are two Tim Burton shorts, "Vincent" and "Frankenweenie." Adding to the excitement, moviegoers will receive an exclusive limited edition collectible "Nightmare" button -- a different one on each of the twelve days, with a special 13th pin available only on Halloween to those who have attended all the previous days. Disney's Soda Fountain & Studio Store (adjacent to the theatre) gets into the spirit with a special "Nightmare Before Christmas" Sundae made with pumpkin ice cream, homemade fudge and marshmallow, and Halloween sprinkles, served in a collectible "Nightmare"-themed bowl. The opening night festivities will include a special filmmakers' panel featuring Ken Page (voice of Oogie Boogie), Shelley Duvall (star of "Frankenweenie"), "Nightmare" director Henry Selick, associate producer Kathleen Gavin, and author Frank Thompson (The Making of Tim Burton's "The Nightmare Before Christmas"), plus other special surprises. Channel 7 entertainment reporter George Pennacchio is scheduled to moderate the 7:00 pm panel (which precedes the film), and Thompson will host the late show starting at 9:50 pm. As an added bonus, Henry Selick's recently completed CG animated short, "Moongirl," will be shown. Guests will also be able to play the latest "Nightmare Before Christmas" interactive games from Buena Vista Games -- "Oogie's Revenge" (for PlayStation 2 and Xbox), and "The Pumpkin King" (for Game Boy Advance). Tickets can be purchased at the box office (6838 Hollywood Blvd.), by calling 1-800-DISNEY6, or online at www.elcapitantickets.com. Commenting on the announcement, Breier said, "The Halloween spirit is alive and well on Hollywood Boulevard at the El Capitan Theatre as we once again celebrate the wildly imaginative films of Tim Burton. Fans love coming to the El Capitan Theatre to see their favorite Halloween treats from Tim, and the response grows stronger each year. We've added some fun new activities and great giveaways this year, and our opening night filmmakers' panel gives fans a chance to hear some special insights about the making of these unique films. Whether you come dressed as Jack Skellington, Sally, the Clown with the Tear-away face, or as you are, we know you're going to have a great time during our twelve night celebration of Tim Burton's holiday masterpiece." First released in 1993, Touchstone Pictures' stop-motion animated musical-fantasy, Tim Burton's "The Nightmare Before Christmas" was directed by Henry Selick ("James and the Giant Peach"), and based on a story and characters by Tim Burton. The film follows the earnest-but-misguided adventures of Jack Skellington, Halloweentown's beloved Pumpkin King, as he attempts to take over the Christmas holiday. Against the advice of Sally, a lonely rag doll who has feelings for him, Jack enlists three mischievous trick-or-treaters -- Lock, Shock, and Barrel -- to help him kidnap Santa Claus. Jack eventually realizes his mistake but has to contend with the evil Oogie Boogie before he can make things right and restore the Christmas holiday. With ten ghoulishly delightful songs by Danny Elfman (who also provided the singing voice for Jack) and the vocal talents of Chris Sarandon, Catherine O'Hara, William Hickey, Glenn Shadix, Paul Reubens, and Ken Page, "The Nightmare Before Christmas" combines the artistry of stop-motion with state-of-the-art technology to create a unique and entertaining moviegoing experience. "Frankenweenie," a 30-minute featurette directed by Tim Burton and written by Lenny Ripps, was originally released in 1984. An homage to the great horror films of the 1930s, this clever black-and-white send-up follows the efforts of young Victor Frankenstein to bring his beloved pet back to life after the dog is killed by a car. Using the techniques of his legendary namesake, Victor causes panic in the neighborhood during the course of his unconventional experiment. Shelley Duvall, Daniel Stern, Paul Bartel and Barrett Oliver star. The 1982 stop-motion animated short, "Vincent," marked Tim Burton's professional directing debut. Seven-year old Vincent Malloy would rather be Vincent Price than a little boy and re-imagines his life as a horror film -- much to his mother's dismay. Co-produced by Burton and Rick Heinrichs, this merrily macabre effort won acclaim at festivals a |
