The shake-up at Disney Studios goes all the way to the top. Walt Disney Motion Pictures Group President Nina Jacobson is out and Oren Aviv has been promoted to take her place. Aviv comes from the Studio Marketing Group, so that seems to be one strike against him. However, when you consider that blockbusters appear… Read More »Nina Jacobson Out, Oren Aviv in.
More details are coming in on the expected cuts at the Walt Disney Company’s various film divisions. Upto 650 jobs are expected to be trimmed, or about 20% of the film production work force. Apparently the Miramax brand will be kept, but Hollywood Pictures and Touchstone will be folded under the Disney Pictures brand including… Read More »More Details on Walt Disney Studios Cuts
J.J. Abrams, creator of what are arguably two of the biggest hits (Alias and LOST) in the last decade for ABC/Disney has been lost to another studio for future film production. Apparently there was a big bidding war with Abrams coming out $60 million richer in the end. With Disney’s new 8 picture a year… Read More »J.J. Abrams is LOST from Disney
Are mobility scooters supposed to be reserved for those who have a disability that would prevent them enjoying a day at the theme parks, or are they available for anyone that just wants to save their energy for a night out on on the town? This article reports on the growing use of the Sidewalk… Read More »Rascal Scooters becoming a problem?
The Wall Street Journal Wine critics take a look at the many offerenings Walt Disney World presents a wine enthusiast. Did you know The Walt Disney Company employs over 300 sommeliers? Me neither. The verdict, on the whole Walt Disney World charges too much for the bottle and the glass, but if you hunt around… Read More »Wine and Dine at WDW. Luxury abounds
Walt Disney is about to re-enter shark infested waters as the battle of the rights to the Winnie The Pooh character is about to be rejoined. It’s a lucrative battle with as much as $6 billion a year in revenue at stake. Among the cases to be decided is another attempt by the Sleslingers to… Read More »Highlights of Upcoming Pooh Court Battles
The Newsweek article looking at the hit crazy that High School Musical has become has been posted to MSNBC.
Six months after its premiere, "High School Musical" rolls on, a
singing and dancing juggernaut. Almost 37 million viewers have watched
the $4.2 million production at least once since its first airing, and
the musical—a pop confection that makes "Grease" look like "Rebel
Without a Cause"—surged back into the spotlight this month, grabbing
six Emmy nominations. The soundtrack, a top-10 hit since its January
release, is the year’s biggest-selling CD, at 2.7 million copies. After
five weeks, the DVD has sold an eye-popping 2.1 million copies.
The DVD is still ranked #20 at Amazon and continues to do well on iTunes. High School Musical has a sequel in production and there’s word that High Schools will be able to license the rights to host their own version of the show as a stage musical. That should have record setting numbers at auditions around the country and might usher in a resurgance in interest in Broadway musicals. A good thing in my book. (Btw, you can now buy the piano score and music sheets for the songs so you can learn how to play or sing them)
Btw, the story leaked the plot for HSM-2, it’s a spoiler, so I’ve put it below the cut.
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Read More »High School Musical, the making of the phenomenon
Although this is kind of common knowledge, it’s funny to see Eisner repeat it at this year’s Media Summit in Sun Valley. Eisner repeats his tale of ambushing Warren Buffet to make the ABC/Cap Cities deal way back when in 1995. The NYP has the full story and a photo of Eisner now, no longer… Read More »Eisner’s Grand Plot to Acquire ABC