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| MickeyXtreme's News Archive August 2004 |
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Tuesday August
31,
2004
________________________________________________________________________________________________ "The Lion King
2" Movie & Sountrack Released Today A YOUNGSTER who has never enjoyed an overseas holiday is set to go to EuroDisney - thanks to big-hearted pub regulars. Jonny Holland and Micheal Caffidy have raised around £1,500 between them to send eight-year-old Megan Bunten, of Blackburn, on a holiday of a lifetime. As she suffers from Down's Syndrome, she is unable to travel in an aeroplane - but thanks to the duo's charity drive she'll head to Mickey Mouse's European home via the Eurostar rail service. Both Michael and Jonny work for Room Maintenance Services, in Lower Audley, Blackburn, and Michael said: "It started when I decided to lose some weight and thought I could raise some cash for charity. "I asked around for a good cause and someone suggested Megan. "I raised about £500 and then Jonny decided to do something, and went for having his legs, chest and back waxed. To be honest, he needed it." The waxing took place in front of amused punters in the British Rail Club, in Freckleton Street. Michael added:
"Overall we've raised about £1,500 and are well
chuffed Megan can have a holiday now." Kindom
Hearts II and Kingdom Hearts: Chains of Memories Updates
Disney discounts
tickets to 'Beauty'
Disney on Ice is discounting some ticket prices to benefit the Ronald McDonald House of Mobile when its production of Beauty and the Beast comes to the Mobile Civic Center Sept. 8-12. For a limited time, a four-pack of tickets to the Sept. 9 evening performance will be available for $24. Of that, $4 will be donated to the Ronald McDonald House. Normal ticket price, according to Brian Hartzell, executive director of the Mobile Ronald McDonald House, is $19 apiece. This offer is valid only for tickets purchased from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Wednesday and Thursday at the Civic Center box office and excludes VIP seats. Mention the Ronald McDonald House when purchasing tickets. Located at 1626 Spring Hill Ave., the Ronald McDonald House provides a temporary home for families whose children are receiving treatment for serious illnesses or injuries at any Mobile area hospital. ________________________________________________________________________________________________ NASCAR, Disney
team up for 'Herbie' The announcement was made Monday by NASCAR Vice President Dick Glover, NASCAR Digital Entertainment Director of Film, Television and Music Entertainment Sarah Nettinga, Buena Vista Motion Pictures Group Senior Vice President, Production Karen Glass, Producer Bob Simonds and Executive Producers Charles Hirschhorn, Tracey Trench and Michael Fottrell. NASCAR fans at California Speedway in Fontana will get a chance to see firsthand movie magic being made as the A-list cast and crew of Herbie: Fully Loaded roll off the soundstage and into the NASCAR garages, pits and onto the track at both the NASCAR Nextel Cup Series and NASCAR Busch Series races Labor Day weekend. Making his NASCAR debut, Herbie and NASCAR's biggest names will shift into action on the pace lap, alongside his pit crew production team and the film's stars. In the NASCAR tradition, Herbie will be customized in sponsor-laden NASCAR gear and customized with his lucky No. 53. Herbie: Fully Loaded stars Lindsay Lohan, Justin Long, Breckin Meyer, Matt Dillon and Michael Keaton. Along with the cast, NASCAR Nextel Cup Series drivers Dale Earnhardt Jr., Jamie McMurray, Casey Mears, Kevin Harvick and Rusty Wallace will have cameos in the film. The film is scheduled for release in the Summer of 2005. "Herbie and Walt Disney are brands that fit perfectly with NASCAR. The movie represents another opportunity expand our sport to a mainstream, loyal, family fan base," said Glover. "This is an excellent opportunity for NASCAR to increase the exposure of our drivers, teams, tracks and sponsors in the wildly popular and well-known Herbie franchise. It is sure to be good and light fun for fans of all ages." "The excitement of a NASCAR race can not be beaten, but adding the always popular Herbie and the all-star cast to our competition activities at the Labor Day weekend race should give our fans a never before seen look at Hollywood movie magic up close," said Nettinga. "Those same fans, plus the 75 million others in the 'NASCAR Nation' along with the cheers from our multi-media and marketing partners should help make Herbie feel more like the 'love bug' than ever before." Glass added, "We're thrilled to have Disney's greatest four-wheeled star participating in the NASCAR Nextel Cup Series over the Labor Day Weekend, and to be associated with this fantastic American event. Herbie is fully loaded and ready to go through the paces as he rolls into action for his most exciting movie role ever. We think the fans are going to get a kick out of seeing this legendary bug along with the cast of his great new starring 'vehicle'." Simonds went on to say, "We're grateful to the NASCAR organization for their enthusiastic support and cooperation with the filming of Herbie: Fully Loaded. The NASCAR Nextel Cup Series race provides a great backdrop to our film as well as a wonderful opportunity for fans at the California Speedway to see one of cinema's all-time greatest car champions. We're all revved up about this weekend and looking forward to working closely with everyone connected wit this great American pastime." Herbie director Angela Robinson and the producers attended the NASCAR Nextel Cup event at the California Speedway May 2, 2004; to experience the impact of NASCAR and learn how to integrate Herbie into the No. 2-rated sport in America. NASCAR and the production team collaborated to finalize a vision to shoot multiple scenes Sept. 3-5 at California Speedway during the NASCAR events. The production will return to the Speedway several times in September and October 2004, to complete all the physical and visual effects shots, allowing Herbie to be added into racing action scenes in a playful but realistic way never before seen.
Actor Jimmy Smits will return to ABC to star in his own series and produce other shows after his term as a congressman on NBC's "West Wing" is over, ABC said Monday. Smits previously starred in the ABC cop drama "NYPD Blue" from 1994 to 1998. "Jimmy's a one-of-a-kind star and we feel fortunate that he's decided to once again be part of the family," said Stephen McPherson, president of ABC Primetime Entertainment. Through his El Sendero Productions, Smits will serve as executive producer of the shows that could air on ABC or other outlets owned by The Walt Disney Co. NBC announced last week that Smits will play a a three-term congressman from Houston, with "presidential aspirations" in the upcoming season of the political drama. ________________________________________________________________________________________________ 'King Arthur' Passes $100 Million
Overseas The weekend gold medal went to M. Night Shyamalan's "The Village," which took in $10.2 million from 13 countries, marked by No. 1 openings in Belgium, the Netherlands, Sweden, Norway and Thailand, as well as by second-weekend holdovers in the United Kingdom and France, for respective market hauls of $10.6 million and $12.4 million. The foreign haul for the thriller stands at $30.8 million. "Garfield" was the surprise silver-medal winner, seizing $9.7 million from 42 territories and lifting its foreign total to $65 million. Solid openings in Russia ($932,000), Hungary ($440,000) and Norway ($418,000) and sound second weeks in France and Germany contributed to the family film's showing. The bronze went to "The Bourne Supremacy," an $8 million performer from 11 countries. It went to the top in Australia with $3.5 million, 77% ahead of its 2002 predecessor, "The Bourne Identity." The spy thriller has racked up $25 million to date overseas. "Arthur's" rise to the $100 million ranks after a $7.8 million weekend came wholly from holdovers, which included the No. 1 position in Germany for two weeks in a row for a market total of $7.3 million. Spain has supplied $9.5 million after three weekends; France, $5.4 million after four; and Russia, $4.5 million after three. Two sci-fi contenders, "I, Robot" and "The Chronicles of Riddick," came in at $6.2 million each for the weekend, with "Robot's" take from 35 markets moving it up to $140.3 million and "Riddick's" tally from 35 taking it to $33 million. "Dodgeball" seized the No. 1 position in the United Kingdom with $3.9 million. "Anacondas: The Hunt for the Blood Orchid," going day-and-date with North America, hunted down $2.6 million from five overseas markets, including a hot $1 million in India and $1.1 million in Mexico. "Starsky & Hutch," in its final overseas date, came in first in Italy with $3.1 million, hoisting its foreign total to $75 million. More weekend tallies: "Catwoman," $2.3 million from 21 countries; "The Terminal," $2.1 million from South Korea; "Alien vs. Predator," $1.8 million from six; "Collateral," $1.8 million from 14; and "13 Going on 30," $1.6 million from 31. ________________________________________________________________________________________________ American Heritage Gallery opening
early September ________________________________________________________________________________________________ New Disney Cookbook, Cooking With Mickey and the Disney Chefs The most-requested recipes from Walt
Disney World Resort, Disneyland Resort and Disney Cruise
Line are featured in the new Cooking With Mickey and the
Disney Chefs, the first-ever cookbook to include recipes
from all three Disney venues. ________________________________________________________________________________________________ Disney’s Swim with the Stars America's first-ever eight-time medalist
Michael Phelps and his gold medalist teammates Lenny
Krayzelburg and Ian Crocker, in their first public
appearances in the United States since winning in Greece,
will meet and swim with young American swimming stars of
tomorrow in 12 cities across the country during
“Disney’s Swim with the Stars” tour. The nationwide
tour begins August 31 at Walt Disney World Resort in Florida
and ends at Disneyland Resort in California.
Disney Pictures Post New Site
Disney.com offers a view of the new Disney
Pictures site.
http://disney.go.com/disneypictures/beta/index.html ________________________________________________________________________________________________ Disney Motion Features Studio
Backlot ABC Wants Raven in Primetime According to The Hollywood Reporter, ABC is hoping to have a project ready for Symone for the spring development season, launching next fall. Her deal with the network is believed to be in the high-six-figure range, an impressive figure for an actress who won't turn 19 until December. Raven-Symone was only three when she joined the cast of NBC's long-running "The Cosby Show." She appeared on the show from 1989 to 1992. She's in her third season of staring in the Disney Channel's "That's So Raven," which has become the cable network's highest rated series. Disney has ordered 13 more episodes of "That's So Raven," which will bring its run to 78 episodes.
While Symone is interested in doing either
half-hour or hour projects, ABC is reportedly looking into
updating "That's So Raven" for a slightly older
sensibility and to reflect the actress' age. The show
focuses on a teenager who can see into the near future.
This past development season ABC attempted to turn a similar trick with Hilary Duff's "Lizzie McGuire," but transferring the show's concept to a high school setting was unsuccessful. The actresses other credits include
multiple appearances on "My Wife and Kids" as well
as roles in the "Dr. Doolittle" features and the
current sequel "The Princess Diaries 2: Royal
Engagement." DISNEY SNAP WATCHES http://www.talariaenterprises.com/product_lists/disney.html Victoria's Secret Releases Mickey
Mouse Sleepwear Collection Disney Home Custom Window Coverings
by 3 Day Blinds ________________________________________________________________________________________________ Wayne Brady and Christy Carlson
Romano Host "Broadway on Broadway" Concert, Sept. 12 The free outdoor event presented by Macy's and produced by the Times Square Alliance and the League of American Theatres and Producers, Inc. The show — to feature almost all musicals on Broadway and some upcoming ones — will begin at 11:30 AM. WNBC-4 will air a one-hour version of the annual concert to air on Sept. 14 at 7 PM (ET). Fans will see appearances and performances from Avenue Q, Beauty and the Beast, Bombay Dreams, Chicago, Forever Tango, Golda's Balcony, Hairspray, Mamma Mia!, Rent, The Lion King, The Phantom of the Opera, The Producers, Wicked and Wonderful Town. This season's new shows Brooklyn The Musical, Dracula The Musical, La Cage Aux Folles, Little Women and Pacific Overtures will also take part. All artists and performances are subject to change. "'Broadway on Broadway' is a great way to kick-off the new season with the best of Broadway performing live on a giant stage in the heart of Times Square," stated League of American Theatres and Producers President Jed Bernstein. "Every fall, this is a unique opportunity where thousands gather for a live sneak preview of the hottest Broadway shows on the coolest street in town. New Yorkers and tourists alike will enjoy this free Sunday concert." Brady — known for his television work on "The Wayne Brady Show" and "Whose Line Is It Anyway?" — will make his Broadway debut in Chicago Sept. 9 starring as Billy Flynn. Star of "Even Stevens" and the voice for "Kim Possible," Romano currently plays Belle on Broadway in Beauty and the Beast. For information on "Broadway on
Broadway," call (888)-BROADWAY or visit http://www.broadwayonbroadway.com/. ED WOOD DRESSED AND READY
Shepherd, Touchstone TV ink deal
________________________________________________________________________________________________ Thanksgiving Dinners at Walt Disney World Listed here are those with Thanksgiving Offerings Other Restaurants May Have Thanksgiving Menu Items but are not listed here. A credit card guarantee is required on all holiday bookings for each priority seating. 48 hour cancellation policy and $10 per person charge if you cancel within 48 hours. For more information or Priority Seatings call WDW-DINE (407) 939-3463) ALL INFO SUBJECT TO CHANGE Magic Kingdom
Epcot
Downtown Disney
Animal Kingdom Lodge
Beach Club
BoardWalk
Caribbean Beach
Contemporary
Fort Wilderness
Grand Floridian
Old Key West
Polynesian
Port Orleans Riverside
WDW Swan and Dolphin Resorts Fresh Mediterranean Market Wilderness Lodge
Yacht Club ________________________________________________________________________________________________ Why do cartoons draw us in?
WHEN Walt Disney first sketched
a friendly little mouse who whistled his way through Steamboat
Willie he had, of course, no idea what he was starting.
His cartoon character was Mickey Mouse - a jittery, hand-sketched black and white cartoon critter who came complete with sound. It was an entertainment format that captured the imagination and hearts of cinema audiences, enough to ensure Mickey - and cartoons - would be around to stay. It was 1928 and the start of the animation revolution. But now, nearly eight decades on, it appears that revolution is about to enter a new phase. In a fortnight’s time, the next big animated movie will hit the big screen, bringing with it a host of top Hollywood names, who would never previously have bothered to get out of bed for a mere "cartoon". Indeed, not so long ago, cartoon voice-overs were left to the actors who couldn’t get a job in front of the camera. Yet Shark Tale promises to be yet another animation blockbuster, a slick, colourful computer-generated cross between Finding Nemo and The Godfather - an underwater, underworld tale of fishy mobsters where the big fish generally eat the little fish. What really makes it stand out from the pack is the decidedly "adult movie" cast. Action movie star Will Smith is the good fish; Robert de Niro the baddie. There’s Angelina Jolie, Oscar-winner Renée Zellweger, School of Rock star Jack Black and even the legendary Martin Scorsese, voices instantly recognisable as they trade fishy puns and wisecracks. The all-star cast is perhaps the strongest indication yet that the animated movie has moved out of the doldrums of films like Disney’s The Black Cauldron, which flopped at the box office in 1985, to meet the public’s new and insatiable appetite for "super cartoons". Soon we’ll have The Incredibles - an everyday tale about a family of ineffectual superheroes - and Robots to add to the ever-increasing list. Indeed, so certain is Mickey’s parent company, Disney, that the future no longer lies in hand-drawn animation, that it is selling up - ironically to Pixar, arguably the masters of the computer generated movie. But just why have these "supertoons" suddenly become the films everyone wants to see? Why are movie-makers increasingly turning to computerised animation? And why do we all seem to love a good cartoon? "It’s fantasyland for adults," Glasgow Caledonian University psychologist Cynthia McVey says. "It takes you back to your childhood and allows you to indulge in fantasy, fairies and magic perhaps more than a normal film can - there’s more scope in a cartoon for underwater stuff, flying, fairy castles. "There’s also a sense of morality about these cartoons. People triumph, and it’s the right people who triumph. Nobody really gets hurt even when there’s a bad event. You get the feeling that these characters don’t really die or get harmed: broken toys get mended, and so on. It’s sheer escapism and it has a moral theme." Adults love them every bit as much as kids, she says. "They appreciate what is great humour, great graphics and they can admire the talent that has gone into making the film. Cartoons are a safe, fantasy world which adults can enjoy - even though they may say they are only there because of the kids or because they want to see the graphics. They allow adults to be children again - don’t we all remember going to the cinema to see cartoons as children, whether it was 101 Dalmatians or Bambi? "Sometimes you want to be taken out of the humdrum of the daily grind to a place where anything can happen. And while it might be fine to see an action movie, not everyone wants to go to the cinema to see people being blown apart or to be terrified." Big-name actors also attract the adults. And for the actors, there’s a status attached to having been in a successful animated movie. "It’s no longer something you do when your career is going nowhere," McVey adds. The origins of this craze can be seen emerging back in the 1990s. Disney’s 1991 movie Beauty and Beast was the first film of its kind to be nominated for a Best Picture Oscar - but it was also the first to use the Computer Assisted Production System, which created fully rendered computer backgrounds. But with its traditional plot and Disney style, it was aimed squarely at the children’s market - and there were no famous voices. The next step forward was the hugely successful Lion King. Disney’s 1994 blockbuster might have been a bit schmaltzy and sentimental for many adults, but children adored it. But the film was significant because it included a starry line-up - the cast included Matthew Broderick, Jeremy Irons, Whoopi Goldberg and James Earl Jones. All these factors were brought together in 1995 for the ground-breaking Toy Story. The world’s first completely computer-generated film brought a form of artwork to the screen which was much more alive, slick and three-dimensional - and, boasted the vocal talents of Oscar-winner Tom Hanks. It had one other extra - its witty, clever script appealed as much to adults as it did to children. Produced on computers at a cost of $30 million (£16.7m), Toy Story grossed more than $190m (£106m) at the American box office alone - just the tip of the iceberg when video, DVD and merchandise is taken into account. For there, the phenomenon began to grow - and by 1998, the two giants in the world of computer-generated cartoons, Pixar and DreamWorks, were going head-to-head with A Bug’s Life, starring Kevin Spacey, and Antz, with Woody Allen. The first Shrek came out three years later, with the smash hit Finding Nemo two years after that. It was all a long way from the first feature-length animated film: Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, released in 1937 at a cost of $1.4m (£800,000) and dubbed "Disney’s folly" by sceptical industry colleagues who couldn’t believe such a labour-intensive production could ever produce profits or box office success. Disney needed an army of animators to fulfil his dream: for every second of film, 24 separate drawings were required to ensure seamless movement. But audiences loved it. There followed a series of classics: Bambi, Dumbo, Pinocchio and Fantasia. There was The Jungle Book, The Aristocats, Lady and The Tramp and 101 Dalmatians. But while animation enjoyed a purple patch, the cost of the labour-intensive production, plus the march of technology and the public’s demand for better quality and more lifelike images, meant changes were inevitable. And, naturally, there has been an incentive for the movie industry to move with the times too. Colin Rawling, regional executive for 20th Century Fox, explains: "The production costs are much less than for a movie with live actors, on location with lots of crew members. "Voices are much cheaper. It costs less to hire someone for just a couple of days to do voices rather than book them on set for months on end. The voices on Pixar’s A Bug’s Life, for example, are said to have only taken five days. A live action film would have taken months." But while the voice-work is fast, the animation still takes a lot of time, he adds. "Toy Story took seven and a half years to draw, Finding Nemo took six. The time-scale is coming down but it’s still a lengthy process." But it’s worth it. Shark Tale, which will premiere at the traditionally rather arty Venice Film Festival on September 10, when the Piazza San Marco will close for the first time to accommodate it - is the latest offering from the people behind the most successful animated movie of all time, Shrek. Shrek 2, meanwhile, has taken some $435m at the US box office so far, yet cost a mere $75m to produce - around half of which paid the wages for its three main stars, Mike Myers, Eddie Murphy and Cameron Diaz. Compare that to the other big summer movie, Troy, starring Brad Pitt and Orlando Bloom. With its massive cast and on location filming, it cost a whopping $185m to produce while American box office receipts so far are just $46m. So with such a handsome money-spinner in the bag, it’s little wonder Dreamworks are already working on Shrek 3 and 4, with rumours of Shrek 6 in the pipeline. But perhaps the biggest winners are the actors, hints Nikki Baughn, deputy editor of the monthly Film Review, Britain’s longest-running film magazine. "It’s a lot of money for not very much work. While there is the publicity to do, they don’t have to be on set. They can see their characters do amazing things without having to get up off their chairs. "It gives them a chance to be something they can’t be in real life." Biggest draws SNOW WHITE AND THE SEVEN DWARFS (Disney 1937). Not the first animated feature film - The Adventures of Prince Achmed got there first in 1926 - but the Technicolor tale of good versus evil took cinemas by storm. Cost: $1.4m (£800,000). US box office earnings: $184m (£103m) DUMBO (Disney 1941) One of a clutch of classics Disney produced in a five-year-spell which include Fantasia, Pinocchio and Bambi. Cost: $950,000 (£530,000). Earnings: $2.5m (£1.4m) during original release. 101 DALMATIANS (Disney 1961). Costs of creating large-scale movies prompted art director Ken Anderson to invent a process which cut the need for the laborious inking animators’ sketches. Original sketches could then be photocopied directly on to the cell - a system used for the next 20 years. Cost: $4m (£2.2m). US box office: $143m (£80m) TRON (Disney, 1982). A tale of a computer hacker who finds himself inside one of his games. It is hardly top of most people’s movie top ten - nor is it strictly speaking a cartoon. However, the use of computers led the way for the future of animation. Poor box office takings turned Disney and other studios off computer animation. Cost: $17m (£9.5m). US box office: $33m (£18.5m) BEAUTY AND THE BEAST (Disney 1991) The first film of its kind to be nominated for a Best Picture Oscar but also the first to use the Computer Assisted Production System which created fully rendered computer backgrounds. Cost: Figure unavailable. US box office: $25m (£14m) TOY STORY (Pixar 1995) The world’s first computer generated movie and the start of a new generation of animation. Cost: $30m (£16.7m). US box office: $191m (£106m) TARZAN (Disney 1999) New technology enabled cameras to travel deeper into the background - and turn corners. The result, Deep Canvas, enabled computers to forge 3D backgrounds in which illustrators could paint. Cost: $150m (£84). US box office: $171m (£95.5m) SHREK (Dreamworks 2001) The story of the smelly green ogre burst on to cinema screens with its combination of childish humour, story with a moral and gags for the adults. Cost: $60m (£33.5m). US box office: $267m (£150m) FINDING NEMO (Pixar 2003) Took cinema-goers underwater on the trail of a missing fish. Cost $94m (£52.5). US box office: $702m (£392m) ________________________________________________________________________________________________ |
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Monday August
30,
2004
________________________________________________________________________________________________ Disney's 'Hero' Opens as Top Weekend Film With $17.8 Million Walt Disney Co.'s "Hero," a martial- arts film starring Jet Li, opened as the top film in the U.S. and Canada with $17.8 million in ticket sales over the weekend. Sony Corp.'s "Anacondas: The Hunt for the Blood Orchid," a horror film about scientists and snakes in the jungles of Borneo, opened in second with $13.2 million. Viacom Inc.'s comedy "Without a Paddle" fell to third with $8.7 million in sales, according to box-office tracker Exhibitor Relations Co. "Hero" is only the third film from Disney studios to open at No. 1 this year, following its Buena Vista unit's "The Village," released in July, and Miramax Film's "Kill Bill, Vol. 2" in April. Disney, which led all owners of Hollywood studios last year with $2.22 billion in domestic box-office sales, ranks fourth this year through last Sunday with $794.8 million, according to Nielsen EDI. "Hero," set in ancient China, tells the story of an aggressive emperor and a nameless warrior who wants revenge for the massacre of his people. It's being distributed by Miramax. In "Anacondas," scientists journey down a jungle river in search of an orchid that produces a youth-preserving serum. They discover that within the jungle lies a deadly predator which keeps the orchids safe. "Without a Paddle" follows a trio of young men on a wilderness canoe trip disrupted by encounters with farmers, girls and a mountain man played by Burt Reynolds. 'Princess Diaries 2' Disney's romantic comedy, "Princess
Diaries 2," dropped to fourth from third with $8.07
million. The movie stars Anne Hathaway as a young princess who
must deal with the revelation that she will soon be crowned
queen and faces an arranged marriage.  Nike
veteran helps boost Disney sales"Never underestimate the power of a free T-shirt," Andrew P. Mooney, the chairman of the Walt Disney Co.'s consumer products division, joked as bikini-clad sunbathers dove into a pool at the Standard hotel here last week. Mooney was quoting Philip H. Knight, the charismatic founder of Nike, with whom Mooney worked for 20 years. But he was referring specifically to a promotion he spearheaded in 2001, hoping to get celebrities like Jennifer Garner and Sarah Jessica Parker to wear Mickey Mouse T-shirts and give the character a more contemporary appeal. It was a hit. Retail sales of the retro T-shirts have doubled annually since their introduction, and Dolce & Gabbana has designed a $1,400 sequined Minnie Mouse T-shirt, to be in stores this fall. Mooney shook his head and laughed. "Who would have thought?" he said. It was the kind of out-of-the-ordinary thinking Disney needed, he said, to revive its consumer products division, which had been eroding since its peak in 1997. The consumer products division provides only a small part of Disney's overall revenue, about 9 percent. But toys, costumes and backpacks have a life far beyond the movie theater. And Mooney hopes to turn Mickey and company into the Martha Stewart of bedding, books and apparel for children, trading as much on Disney's reputation for quality (a draw for parents) as on its characters' appeal. In effect, analysts said, he is trying to do for Disney's consumer products business what Knight did for Nike: turn the Disney name into a lifestyle brand. Since 1999, when Mooney joined Disney, the company's publishing group has inaugurated its first original comic book series, W.i.t.c.h., a collection of stories about teenage girls with supernatural powers. The series sells well worldwide and is being developed as a television show for Disney's cable networks. Mooney and his team made being a princess both hip and profitable: The Disney Princess line of costumes and accessories will earn $2 billion this year in retail sales and spawned a series of princess-related events at Disney's theme parks. "For the first time there seems like there is a coherent plan," said Tom Wolzien, a media analyst at Sanford C. Bernstein & Co. "We'll see how it works, but so far the results under his tenure are good." Not every new idea is a hit, of course. A few years ago, Disney tried to market, under the Always Fresh label, women's nightshirts and T-shirts, including one depicting a suggestively posed Snow White and the phrase "Attracts Strange Little Men." Reminded of the unsuccessful venture, Mooney groaned. "We were young," he said, adding, "You have to undergo a degree of chance if you want to succeed." And Mooney admits he has a long way to go to turn around the division. In its heyday in 1997, the consumer products division had $893 million in operating income and more than 4,200 licensees who sold products related largely to Winnie the Pooh and Mickey Mouse, as well as the company's popular animated movies, like "Snow White" and "The Lion King." The company had 749 Disney Stores worldwide. ________________________________________________________________________________________________ Disney's consumer prince awakens a
sleeper Mooney was quoting Philip Knight, the founder of Nike, with whom Mooney worked for 20 years. But he was referring specifically to a promotion he spearheaded in 2001, hoping to get celebrities like Jennifer Garner and Sarah Jessica Parker to wear Mickey Mouse T-shirts and give the character a more contemporary appeal. It was a hit. Retail sales of the retro T-shirts have doubled annually since they were introduced that year, and the designers Dolce Gabbana have designed a $1,400 sequined Minnie Mouse T-shirt to be in stores this fall. Mooney shook his head and laughed. "Who would have thought?" he said. It was the kind of "out of the ordinary" thinking that Disney needed to revive its moribund consumer products division, which had been steadily eroding since its peak in 1997, he said. The consumer products division provides only about 9 percent of Disney's overall revenue, but toys, costumes and backpacks have a life far beyond the movie theater door. And Mooney hopes to turn Mickey and company into the Martha Stewart of bed, books and apparel for kids. In effect, analysts said, he is trying to do for Disney's consumer products business what Knight did for Nike: make the Disney name into a lifestyle brand. Since 1999, when Mooney joined, Disney has published its first original book series - W.I.T.C.H., a collection of stories about teenage girls with supernatural powers. The series sells well worldwide, and is being developed as a television show for Disney's cable networks. Mooney and his team made being a princess both hip and profitable: the Disney Princess line of costumes and accessories will earn $2 billion this year in retail sales and has spawned a series of princess-related events at Disney's theme parks. "For the first time there seems like there is a coherent plan," said Tom Wolzien, a media industry analyst at Sanford C. Bernstein. "The division has been beaten up for so many years it looks like he's breathing new life into it." Not every new idea is a hit, of course. A few years ago, Disney tried to market, under the Always Fresh label, women's nightshirts and T-shirts, including one depicting a seductive Snow White and the phrase, "Attracts Strange Little Men." Reminded of the unsuccessful venture, Mooney groaned. "We were young," Mooney said. "You have to undergo a degree of chance if you want to succeed." Mooney acknowledges that he has a long way to go to match the division's best performances. In its heyday in 1997, the consumer products division had $893 million in operating income drawn from 749 Disney stores worldwide and more than 4,200 licensees, selling products related largely to Winnie the Pooh and Mickey Mouse, as well as popular animated movies like "Snow White" and "The Lion King." But when the retail market declined, so did profits. Disney stores expanded into second- and third-tier malls, and those stores quickly showed losses as the economy sputtered. The quality of Disney-branded products was suffering as well; the Disney name could be found on almost anything. By 2000, operating income for the division had dwindled to $386 million and even Mickey Mouse's popularity was showing signs of wear. Mooney, 49, had his work cut out for him. First, he halved the number of licensees. Then he began actively pursuing companies Disney wanted to work with, rather than waiting for them to call, as his predecessors had done. He also began selling Disney's underperforming stores and seeking high-end retailers like Fred Segal in Los Angeles to sell specialty products. Most important, he strengthened Disney's relationship with large retailers; the division opened its first 15-person sales office in Bentonville, Arkansas, home of Wal-Mart, the country's biggest and most influential mass retailer. Now, four years later, the consumer products division earned $388 million in operating income in the first three quarters of 2004, which already puts it ahead of 2003. Industry analysts predict that operating income could reach $511 million for the fiscal year. While some of the increase in operating income is a result of the sale of some Disney stores, analysts also attribute some growth to the popularity of new products. Further, Disney has signed a nonbinding letter of intent to sell its more than 300 stores in the United States to The Children's Place retail chain. One of Mooney's major initiatives is to expand into clothing and household goods like bed linens that will rely on the Disney reputation, but not Disney characters. Next spring, the company plans to introduce, under the Disney Denim brand, pants and jean jackets that have whimsical elements like pocket fabric inspired by Disney cartoon strips, or an unobtrusive "D" stitched onto a back pocket. Parents who do not want to dress their children in head-to-toe Mickey Mouse can mix and match, Mooney said. Retailers get a break, too, paying a royalty fee of 5 percent on Disney Denim instead of the 10 percent they usually pay to sell apparel with Disney characters (although they can sell the Disney-branded clothes at a premium to other private labels). Mooney hopes to expand the offering into linens and other household products. But lifestyle products with an untraditional touch are what seem to excite Mooney most. At Fred Segal in Los Angeles, Disney recently tested Snap watches, which have interchangeable faces and wristbands and are based on Disney characters but with a hipper, more urban appeal. That appeal comes at a price, however: $35 a watch. In his interview at the hotel, Mooney held up a pink T-shirt from the Disney Cuties line for young girls and teenagers, introduced 15 months ago. The shirt was printed with a blue and white Eeyore outlined in thick black lines, more anime-style than conventional Disney animation. "This is Japanese anime meets the library," Mooney said. "We started in T-shirts and now we're making pillows and cellphone cases. We are always looking for sustainable ideas that cross all lines of business." He said the consumer products business was growing faster outside the United States, and new products were being introduced in Japan or Europe well before they hit American shores. That was the case with Disney's new W.I.T.C.H. books, which chronicle the lives of five teenage girls who spend their days worrying about boys and their nights fighting evil-doers. (The initials stand for their first names.) The comic books were introduced in Italy in 2001 and now sell a million copies worldwide each month. The first W.I.T.C.H. graphic novel was introduced in the United States in June this year. It has already sold 650,000 copies, Mooney said. And next year, Disney plans to broadcast a W.I.T.C.H. animated television show both in Europe and in the United States on the company's cable stations. ________________________________________________________________________________________________ Holiday lights will return ________________________________________________________________________________________________ Home on the Range: Coming to DVD
September 14th "Since I was a kid, I've dreamed of winning the gold medal and shouting 'I'm going to Disney World,"' said Phelps, who won six Olympic gold medals and two bronzes in Athens. "Now I'm really doing it -- and going to Disneyland too." Disney officials announced Sunday that Phelps and fellow U.S. Olympic gold medalists Lenny Krayzelburg and Ian Crocker are launching a 12-city "Swim With the Stars" tour. It begins Tuesday with a parade in their honor at Florida's Walt Disney World and ends on Oct. 5 at the Disneyland Resort in Anaheim. Each stop will feature a two-hour swimming show, as well as personal appearances by the swimmers. Other cities on the tour are: Atlanta, New York, Baltimore, Chicago, Dallas, Denver, Las Vegas, Salt Lake City, Seattle and San Francisco. ________________________________________________________________________________________________ Top movies at the
North American box office 2 (*) Anacondas .......... $13.2 million 3 (2) Without a Paddle ... $ 8.7 million 4 (3) The Princess Diaries 2 ............ $ 8.1 million 5 (1) Exorcist: The Beginning ........... $ 6.7 million 6 (6) Collateral ......... $ 6.3 million 7 (5) Open Water ......... $ 5.0 million 8 (4) Alien vs. Predator . $ 4.8 million 9 (7) The Bourne Supremacy .............. $ 4.6 million 10 (*) Suspect Zero ....... $ 3.4 million |
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Sunday August 29, 2004 ________________________________________________________________________________________________ Film festival coming to AMC Pleasure
Island 24 Theatres ________________________________________________________________________________________________
ABC.com has launched ABC On Demand, new
broadband programming that includes segments from popular ABC
Television Network programs. ABC On Demand is available on an
exclusive basis to subscribers of RealNetworks, Inc. SuperPass.
ABC On Demand features "Soap 411," a daily recap of General Hospital, One Life to Live, and All My Children; celebrity and lifestyle segments from The View; clips from Jimmy Kimmel Live highlighting stunts, pranks, celebrity interviews, and produced sketches; behind-the-scenes insights into Extreme Makeover; and, extended footage and commentary from Extreme Makeover: Home Edition. "The widespread acceptance of broadband in homes presents a great opportunity for ABC to offer its fans new access to their favorite shows and celebrities," said Harry Lin, Vice President of ABC.com. "This content will do three things: it provides an additional promotional platform for our shows, it offers more of the shows our fans can't get enough of, and it provides on-demand access to highlights of programs viewers may have missed on air. We've witnessed the success ABC News content has had with SuperPass, and we know this is a great home for our broadband entertainment content." ABC News and RealNetworks have collaborated for nearly a decade. ABC News content, such as World News Tonight, Nightline, and Good Morning America, has been available for SuperPassTM subscribers since 2002 and is among the most accessed programming on that service. ABC News is also the largest content provider for Real's mobile data service. "RealNetworks is the leader in offering consumers access to music, movies and games online," said Richard Wolpert, Chief Strategy Officer RealNetworks, Inc. "Entertainment content is a key driver of video content on the web, and we are excited to expand our relationship with ABC to offer exclusive entertainment to our SuperPass subscribers." The consumer experience is changing as the world shifts from dial-up to high-speed, and RealNetworks continues to provide innovative technologies that give consumers the benefits of a high-quality digital entertainment lifestyle experience. SuperPass is available to RealPlayer users and offers consumers on-demand access to news, entertainment, and sports programming. As of the second quarter, RealNetworks has more than 1.4 million subscribers to its subscription services, including SuperPass. About ABC.com About ABC News Digital Media Group About RealNetworks ________________________________________________________________________________________________ Ninth Annual ABC Super Soap Weekend Returns to Disney-MGM Studios Nov. 13-14 Susan Lucci ("All My Children") will headline a star-studded lineup of more than 30 actors and actresses from the ABC Daytime dramas Nov. 13-14, 2004, at the ninth annual ABC Super Soap Weekend at Disney-MGM Studios in Lake Buena Vista, Fla. The announcement was made by Brian Frons, president of ABC Daytime. Annually, ABC Super Soap Weekend is the largest soap fan event held anywhere in the country. ABC Daytime once again will partner with Colgate Total toothpaste as its presenting sponsor of the event that will be held at Disney-MGM Studios at Walt Disney World Resort. During Super Soap Weekend, fans will have the opportunity to meet favorite stars from "All My Children," "One Life to Live" and "General Hospital." Other event festivities include celebrity motorcades, autograph sessions, star conversations, talk shows, a special soap opera edition of the "Who Wants To Be A Millionaire-Play It!" game show attraction and the chance to purchase one-of-a-kind memorabilia from each of the shows. The elaborate star-studded event also features live musical performances by cast members in the Colgate Total Street Jam concert. ABC Super Soap Weekend is included with theme park admission to Disney-MGM Studios -- where guests of all ages are caught up in the glitz, glamour and excitement of show business. For future updates and more information about ABC Super Soap Weekend, guests may call the Super Soap Hotline at 407/397-6808. ________________________________________________________________________________________________ ABC's Digital Convention Scam ABC, like other broadcast networks, will cover the forthcoming GOP convention precisely as it covered the Democratic event--by largely ignoring it. After all, nothing must get in the way of the multibillion-dollar revenues from prime-time commercials. CBS, NBC and ABC will air a measly three
hours of the GOP convention, the same short shrift they gave
the Democrats. (Fox Broadcasting doesn't show any convention
coverage at all!) Although the four big broadcast networks'
fortunes are predicated on free use of the public airwaves, no
major politician will publicly chastise them for their greed
and disregard of the public interest. In our hyper commercial
media culture, even presidential candidates know that civic
discourse doesn't bring premium prime-time ad rates. Despite this lack of broadcast time, ABC is even boasting of its "comprehensive" coverage. Through its new, purportedly ground-breaking ABC News Now digital service, the network promises "a more comprehensive look at what this election and these conventions mean." Using a combination of broadband streaming (via AOL and others), Sprint "Vision" phones and a handful of digital TV channels, ABC's "FAQ" sheet crows that "no other network is offering that kind of comprehensive coverage across multiple platforms." Yet very few people are likely to watch Jennings and company digitally. Despite all the hype about tens of millions of potential viewers, only about 500,000 may have access to News Now, admits ABC. That's out of 108 million US TV households and the 68 million US adults who have high-speed Internet service. As for its digital TV channel, one must either have an over-the-air digital tuner (which very few have at present) or pay extra for premium cable service. If you live in Kansas, Maine, Missouri, New Mexico or several other states, the channel is simply not available at all. And if you live in other states where it is available, you still need to know about it, which most people don't. ABC News president David Westin didn't mention any of this in a recent Washington Post op-ed criticizing anyone concerned about the networks' failure to broadcast the conventions as hopelessly "out of date." Cable and the Internet have now created a "media democracy," and "time and technology are passing the critics by." What the big networks do is largely irrelevant today, he claimed. (We have to wonder if his colleagues tell the same story to ABC's advertisers.) But while Westin was offering journalistic gloss to cover up the network's unwillingness to expend much prime-time programming on public service, Disney's president, Robert Iger, spoke more candidly when he addressed investment analysts earlier this month. If the FCC or Congress passes the new rules that Disney and other broadcasters are lobbying for, new digital news channels like ABC News Now will flourish. In other words, ABC's new political programming offerings are a digital "Trojan horse" to help the company achieve a billion-dollar bounty of new corporate welfare. Disney paid more than $5 billion for a single cable channel (Fox Family) back in 2001 and has remained extremely profitable. Imagine how the bottom-lines of the broadcast industry will prosper from a policy which gives each broadcaster multiple cable channels for free. Disney/ABC, GE/NBC and the National Association of Broadcasters say they can offer the public more channels as their TV stations broadcast digitally. All US broadcasters are converting to digital transmission. Each local TV station will soon be able to transmit as many as six distinct channels in the place of the one they have today. Some readers may recall the notorious giveaway of new public airwaves to broadcasters by Congress in 1996. It was worth $70 billion then. Under the policy sought by Disney and others, cable systems would have to show all these new channels. That would likely bring broadcasters tremendous new revenues, all because of government largesse. But Disney/ABC and other broadcast companies want this new policy without any public-interest strings attached. They oppose even a modest requirement that they would actually have to provide additional news and public affairs programming as a condition for such a policy. It is likely that once the government approves the cable "must carry" policy sought by Disney, such vaunted efforts as ABC News Now would be quickly replaced by entertainment, sports and other ratings-proven fare. So while Peter Jennings and company appear on tiny cell-phone screens, Disney lobbyists are promising lawmakers that--with the right help from government--they can vastly improve the quality of political news coverage. No mention, of course, that all networks (thanks to Congress and FCC deregulation) are now part of larger media conglomerates rolling in dough. This year, broadcasters are also reaping historic profits from the sale of ad time to candidates, likely to approach $1.6 billion this year. But don't expect to see coverage on network news--even ABC News Now--about how the networks are working on a scam of their own while they shortchange the public. Even with the expanded reach of digital, that's one story they won't broadcast--even to a cell phone. |
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________________________________________________________________________________________________ Saturday August 28, 2004 ________________________________________________________________________________________________ Disney allowed
to reopen ride that injured five The July 9 closure was prompted after two
trains collided in the loading station, causing minor injuries
to five people. It was the third accident in less than a year
for Big Thunder, which reopened Friday night. Nearly a year ago,
Marcelo Torres of Gardena was killed and 10 others were hurt
when the train smashed into another car. Among them: Disney was told to retrain the ride operator who did not follow a procedure for removing a train from service. Tower operator James Nerrie, 22, had apparently failed to follow the procedure when he didn't properly divert a train away from the loading area. Another worker tried to stop the train before it collided with a second |
