Disney pulls out all the stops at D23

Studio backing Guillermo del Toro production shingle

Source: THR

By Paul Bond

ANAHEIM, Calif. -- Disney has teamed with director Guillermo del Toro to create Disney Double Dare You, a new label with a mandate to produce spooky animated feature films.

Studio chairman Dick Cook made the announcement Friday in front of 5,000 enthusiastic fans of all things Disney during the second day of the company's four-day D23 Expo.

The first film from the new studio is called "Trollhunters" and based on an original story by del Toro. He'll also produce the movie.

Del Toro was in New Zealand directing "The Hobbit" for MGM and New Line. However, there was plenty of star power on hand to wow the crowd. And Cook had other official announcements up his sleeve.

Cook confirmed that Disney will remake the 1968 Beatles' film "Yellow Submarine," to be written and directed by Robert Zemeckis and turned into a 3D motion-capture spectacle.

Zemeckis showed the attendees scenes from his upcoming take on "A Christmas Carol" that stars Jim Carrey in "seven or eight roles" (he couldn't quite remember which). "And we only had to pay him once," Cook quipped.

Johnny Depp also hit the stage to a standing ovation. Playing a drunken Jack Sparrow, he and Cook announced that the fourth "Pirates of the Caribbean" movie will be subtitled "On Stranger Tides" and hit theaters in summer 2011.

Tim Burton also joined Cook -- rousing almost as much passion from the audience as did Depp -- and showed some "Alice in Wonderland" clips. He confirmed that he is working on a feature-length version of his 1984 short film "Frankenweenie."

John Travolta, wife Kelly Preston and their daughter Ella Bleu Travolta showed scenes from their upcoming comedy "Old Dogs," which also stars Robin Williams. It's 9-year-old Ella Bleu's feature-film debut.

Miley Cyrus, who stars in next year's "The Last Song," sang her hit tune "The Climb," and Jerry Bruckheimer showed snippets from "Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time."

Nicolas Cage told Cook he's interested making another "National Treasure" movie and he showed scenes from "The Sorcerer's Apprentice," a live-action film inspired by Disney's 1940 animated "Fantasia," which Cage called "the most beautiful movie ever made."

Cage also took a few moments to get serious, noting that Friday marked the eighth anniversary of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. Turmoil like that inspires him to make family-oriented movies, he said.

The nearly two-hour event at the Anaheim Convention Center began with a lengthy montage, accompanied by a live orchestra, of Disney films through the ages, with fans showing their appreciation with various degrees of applause. For those keeping score, the crowd made the most noise for "Mary Poppins," "The Nightmare Before Christmas" and "Beauty and the Beast."

And not only did directors, stars and movies receive love from the fans, so did Cook, providing evidence that the Disney studio itself attracts the sort of loyalty usually reserved for celebrities.

That sort of reaction must have been like music to the ears of Steven Clark, head of the D23 Expo. The conference ends Sunday, when Disney-Pixar chief creative officer John Lasseter will head a presentation similar to Cook's.

Clark wouldn't reveal how many attended the conference -- beyond "tens of thousands" -- nor would he guarantee a repeat performance next year.

He did, though, say that if D23 Expo is to be an annual event, he plans to keep it in Anaheim.

D23 is the name of the $75-a-year fan club that Disney launched six months ago. The D23 Expo is its "signature event," Clark said. The number "23" is an homage to 1923, the year Walt Disney founded his animation studio.

Clark says Disney's intent is to break even on D23 Expo, though it's obviously a marketing effort and -- judging from the positive reaction from fans and attention it has been getting from mainstream media outlets -- a successful one.

Attendees paid $37 a day or $111 for all four days, with discounts for children and D23 members. Clark said attendees have come from all 50 states and several countries, "including large contingents from Australia, the U.K. and Japan."

Tom Hanks on Toy Story 3 and What They Showed Him First

disneyApril 23, 2009
Source: Empire
by Alex Billington

One of the many reasons that I love Pixar as much as I do is because of their work ethic, their process, how they do things. It's a bit different from everyone else, but it still works, and it's somewhat mesmerizing to see (as in, the special features on their DVDs). Empire published an excerpt from their recent interview with Tom Hanks talking about working on Toy Story 3. He explains that they actually showed him the movie first, with temporary voices, before he then recorded his own voice. "I have been in and done three big complete recording sessions and will probably have at least one more to do, possibly in about eight months."

"They did an interesting thing on this one. They did not send us a script. They showed us a complete story reel of the entire movie, with storyboards moving from one to the next, and the people up at Pixar recorded some voices with some music and sound effects. Tim Allen and John Ratzenberger and I went in a movie theatre, watched the reel and said, 'This is great, let's get to work!'"

I don't think I need to remind anyone that Hanks voices Woody in the movie. And of course, Tim Allen is back as Buzz, and the aforementioned John Ratzenberger is back as Hamm the Piggy Bank. A few weeks ago, Disney showed a promo reel for Toy Story 3 to audiences at NAB. And before that, we announced that the first Toy Story 3 trailer would be attached to the Toy Story and Toy Story 2 in 3-D showing on October 2nd later this year. It's always fascinating to hear those stories behind how Pixar works, and this is definitely no exception. I mean, how often does anyone see the movie first before they start work on it?

Source : www.firstshowing.net

3D Updates: Alice in Wonderland, Beauty and the Beast and Pirates of the Carribean

November 19, 2008
Source: MarketSaw, Variety
by Alex Billington

It's no coincidence that the three films mentioned in the title are all Disney films. It seems Disney, who is very well versed in the world of theme parks, believes 3D really is the future and is pushing very hard to put out nearly every film they're releasing from now on in 3D. This even includes such timeless classics as Beauty and the Beast and Tim Burton's upcoming Alice in Wonderland. We've got three updates today in regards to 3D, two of which pertain to Beauty and Wonderland, the third of which pertains to Pirates of the Caribbean. As always, I jump at any opportunity to talk about 3D and how bad it might be because this time not all this news is necessarily good news! Care to find out more?

First up, Disney is re-rendering their 1991 classic Beauty and the Beast in Digital 3D and will be re-releasing the new version in theaters sometime in 2010. The process is expected to take 9 months to complete. The original team of filmmakers, including producer Don Hahn and co-directors Kirk Wise and Gary Trousdale, will be back to oversee the process. "By going back to the original animation files, which have been carefully archived for 17 years, and using the separate background, effects and character animation elements, we're able to come up with a fun and unique 3D experience for existing and new fans of the film," Hahn said. This actually doesn't seem that bad of an idea. I'll be curious to check it out.

Second, our friends at MarketSaw have uncovered some interesting news regarding Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland. While the film has always been touted as a 3D feature, blending a mix of CGI and live-action photography, apparently it's not actually being shot in 3D. "Tim Burton is NOT shooting AIW in 3D at all. Period. They intend on converting to 2D movie to 3D after the fact in post production!" It'll still be 3D in the end, it just won't look as good as if it were entirely shot in 3D (like say, James Cameron's Avatar). To me this just means that it's going to turn out a lot worse in 3D, because anything not built (or shot) from the ground up in 3D usually ends up terrible. I'll just stick with the 2D version, thank you!

Lastly, David Cohen at Variety speculates that we could end up seeing Pirates of the Caribbean 4 in 3D by the time it hits theaters in 2011. "We can't help but notice that 1) Disney is heavily invested in 3D, including live-action. 2) Gore Verbinski and Johnny Depp are making an animated 3D movie together, Rango. and 3) Jerry Bruckheimer is making G-Force in 3D." He actually makes a very good point. Considering Pirates of the Caribbean is their money-making gem, I wouldn't be surprised if Disney is trying to find out ways to make even more money from the franchise, including putting the entire film out in 3D. Swashbuckling pirates in full 3D? Sounds like a theme park ride more than a movie to me.

Source : www.firstshowing.net

Pixar's Cars 2 Pushed Up to Summer of 2011

September 25, 2008
by Alex Billington

During the Disney Showcase yesterday held at the Kodak Theater in Hollywood, John Lasseter and Dick Cook presented a brief look at the upcoming animated films from Disney. Included was a quick look at Cars 2. While there wasn't any concept art or photos, Lasseter and Cook announced that the film would be hitting theaters in the summer of 2011, as opposed to 2012, as was first announced. Additionally, Lasseter mentioned that he came up with the idea for the sequel while traveling around the world doing publicity for the first film. He wondered how the characters would react in various locations all over the world. Cars 2 will follow Tow Mater getting his passport and traveling to Europe with Lightning McQueen.

Lasseter also gave us a quick look at an episode from a series of shorts called Cars Toons. These shorts will feature "Mater's Tall Tales", a series of funny stories told by Tow Mater himself, starting with how he used to be a firetruck. The more I re-watch Cars, the more I come to appreciate it. It's definitely not Pixar's best film, but I'm honestly still excited for a sequel. Why are so many people angry at this news? I honestly don't understand! Since when has Pixar done anything wrong? It's not the most beloved film, but I think the sequel to Cars will definitely be embraced by 2011. The story sounds like it could be fun and it'll be a drastic change from the first film. Hopefully there are others out there who appreciate Cars as much as I do?

Source : www.firstshowing.net