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July 2014

So Why Did Once Upon a Time Choose that Frozen Storyline?

Many viewers were shocked when the TV series Once Upon a Time revealed the story would be taking a Frozen turn in Season Four. If you were wondering just how they decided to incorporate Disney’s biggest animated fairytale into the show, the reasoning was revealed… Read More »So Why Did Once Upon a Time Choose that Frozen Storyline?

Star Wars and Marvel Announce New Comics, Plus Star Wars Rebels Previews

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While we didn’t get any big news about Star Wars: Episode VII at San Diego Comic Con, Marvel did announce that beginning next year they would be releasing three Star Wars titles: Star Wars: Princess Leia, Star Wars: Darth Vader, and, of course Star Wars. All three of these titles will take place between Episode IV and Episode V.

SDCC attendees also were treated to see a little bit from the new animated show Star Wars Rebels, including an extended look at the show as well as a couple of clips and an interview with Simon Kinberg, one of the show’s writers.

extended look (watch for the R2D2 and C-3PO cameos)

two new clips below the jump:
Read More »Star Wars and Marvel Announce New Comics, Plus Star Wars Rebels Previews

Downtown Disney Marketplace Co-Op Walking Tour

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Last weekend I went on a brief walking tour of the new Marketplace Co-Op in Downtown Disney Orlando. This location will serve as a testing ground for new store concepts for Disney. If it is popular, a concept could eventually get its own store elsewhere in the resort.

The tiki corner. This is my favorite section of the store by far

The tiki corner. This is my favorite section of the store by far

Here are the six original concepts:

Beautifully Disney – A beauty destination for women featuring make-up, fragrance and beauty accessories;
Cherry Tree Lane – Accessories for the sophisticated woman with a passion for scarves, shoes, bags and jewelry;
D-Tech on Demand – A place to personalize and customize your own electronic accessories;
The Trophy Room – Vintage-inspired, lifestyle sports apparel and collectibles;
Disney Centerpiece – Home products offering a splash of Disney in room furnishings, textiles and everyday ware;
Zoey and Pickles – A girls’ destination with the latest trends.

Now join me on a walking tour:

I’d love for them to do the same thing with food, come to think of it.

Read More »Downtown Disney Marketplace Co-Op Walking Tour

Who is James Gunn, besides the director of Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy

Director James Gunn with  his friend Mikayla Hoover

Director James Gunn with his friend Mikayla Hoover

For the last few weeks, I’ve been following Guardians of The Galaxy Director @jamesgunn on Twitter and as well as on Facebook. It’s been one series after another of great posts, behind the scenes photos, and a rare glimpse as a Director rises to whatever level super stars achieve in Hollywood. Yes, Guardians of the Galaxy is that good.

In an early profile FilmJournal interviewed Gunn about what it was like as he was competing for the director’s chair

“The more I talked about it, the more excited I got. I saw the opportunity to do the exact movie I’d always wanted to do and never thought I’d have the chance—a space opera. As we talked, I could see visually what I would do with the movie, like bringing back some of the colorful palettes of sci-fi movies like Forbidden Planet and Fantastic Voyage. So I threw my hat in the ring. At first it was me against five other directors; then it was me against three other directors; then it was me against one other director; and then it was just me.”

and on the challenges of creating a whole corner of the galaxy from the ground up

“On a normal movie, you’d set a scene in a kitchen and then go to the production designer and he’d say, ‘We can use this toaster or this toaster or this toaster.’ In this movie, if the characters are going to have toast, you’ve got to figure out how the process works. Are there toasters? Are they in the wall? You’re really creating everything from the ground up and I felt like I had a lot of freedom to create the universe I wanted.”

It really is a great interview, read the whole thing.

Another recent profile on Gunn was in the Los Angeles Times. Gunn talks about more about how much he’s enjoyed working on the projectRead More »Who is James Gunn, besides the director of Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy

SDCC’14 Coverage: Marvel Brings Down Hall H With Avengers: Age of Ultron Teaser

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The closing portion of Marvel Movies’ San Diego Comic-Con panel in Hall H on Saturday afternoon was all about next year’s sure-to-be-blockbuster Avengers: Age of Ultron.

Michael Jackson’s “Don’t Stop ‘Til You Get Enough” began playing and the first of the huge cast in attendance was announced by moderator Chris Hardwick. Iron Man himself, Robert Downey, Jr, took the stage first and after a bit of dancing, opened his briefcase and began throwing red roses at the crowd.

RDJ then took over the announcements, and he was soon joined onstage by Jeremy Renner (Hawkeye), Mark Ruffalo (Bruce Banner/Hulk), Chris Hemsworth (Thor), Cobie Smulders (Maria Hill), Samuel L. Jackson (Nick Fury), Chris Evans (Captain America), Aaron Taylor-Johnson (Quicksilver), Paul Bettany (Vision/J.A.R.V.I.S.), James Spader (Ultron), and Elizabeth Olsen (Scarlet Witch). As the two women came out, Downey presented each of them with white roses. Such a gentleman!

The cast took turns answering questions from Hardwick. RDJ was asked how it felt to be returning in this movie, to which he replied “It just keeps getting better… I’m so excited to be here. We’ve got a real nice movie coming up for you guys next year.” “You’re the best, Robert!” cried one man from the audience. “You’re probably right,” Downey shot back, which caused the rest of the cast to laugh.

There were several jokes made about Chris Hemsworth’s muscular physique, but when asked if there was anything about Thor that he wants to do with the character, he made a nod to the recent comic change and slyly joked, “Turning him into a woman. I don’t want to jinx it, but I think it could be my Oscar. I’m willing to take it on.” (Recently Marvel announced Thor would be changing genders.)

Aaron Taylor-Johnson, new to the cast as Quicksilver, spoke about what drew him to the role: “The characters have such a dynamic between the group. What’s beautiful is you get these characters in the same room and they bounce off of each other.”

Scarlett Johansson, who plays Black Widow, couldn’t be at Hall H due to her pregnancy, but she did a video introduction to the showing of the first footage from Avengers: Age of Ultron.

And the footage sent the room crazy.

SPOILER ALERT – scroll past the next photo if you don’t want to know what was shown from the movie…

Read More »SDCC’14 Coverage: Marvel Brings Down Hall H With Avengers: Age of Ultron Teaser