It’s been 12 years since the last big screen adventure that stared The Muppets. And there was a good reason for that, the films were creative and box office disappointments. Disney’s challenge, since taking over the brand, has been to find a way to recapture… Read More »Pulling the Strings on Disney’s The Muppets
Everyone in Hollywood knew that Jason Segel’s day hosting Saturday Night Live would come. The work he did to bring the Muppets back to the silver screen after a 12 year absence only served as a little bit of an accelerator. If you missed the… Read More »The Muppets Help Jason Segel Open Saturday Night Live
Two-time academy award-winning Pixar director John Lasseter was honored today with a star on the Hollywood Walk of family. The unveiling occurred at the historic El Capitan Theatre where he was surrounded by family, colleagues, and celebrities from his blockbuster animated features.
The event was emceed by Hollywood Chamber of Commerce President/CEO Leron Gubler, with special guest speaker, actress Bonnie Hunt. Also joining the celebration were Owen Wilson, Brad Paisley, Emily Mortimer, John Ratzenberger, Patton Oswalt, Don Rickles, Randy Newman and Cheech Marin. Key Disney and Pixar executives in attendance included Studio Chairman Rich Ross, Studio President Alan Bergman, Production President Sean Bailey, Disney and Pixar Animation Studios President Ed Catmull, Pixar General Manager Jim Morris, among many other prestigious guests.
Lasseter’s star is the 2,453rd on the Hollywood Walk of Fame and is located in front of the historic El Capitan Theatre. The event was followed by an exclusive luncheon specially prepared by celebrity chef Guy Fieri.
Lasseter made his feature film directorial debut with the now classic “Toy Story,” which was the first-ever feature length computer animated motion picture. He subsequently directed the international box office hits “A Bug’s Life,” “Toy Story 2,” “Cars” and “Cars 2.” Creatively overseeing all films and associated projects from Walt Disney and Pixar Animation Studios, his executive producing credits include the Oscar®-winning and nominated Pixar films “Monsters, Inc.,” “Finding Nemo,” “The Incredibles,” “Ratatouille,” “WALL-E,” “Up” and “Toy Story 3.” He also served as executive producer for Walt Disney Animation Studios’ Academy Award®-nominated features “Bolt,” “The Princess and the Frog” and “Tangled,” as well as the studio’s most recent release “Winnie the Pooh.” Lasseter is also the executive producer of Pixar’s new animated feature “Brave,” which will be released in 2012.
A graduate of CalArts with a BFA in film, Lasseter is the only two-time winner of the Student Academy Award® for Animation for his student films “Lady and the Lamp” and “Nitemare.”
John Lasseter, Chief Creative Officer of Walt Disney Animation and Pixar Animation, has a soft spot for wine. So when he reached that point in his life where he could afford it, he and his wife bought a winery in Napa Valley. This appears to… Read More »John Lasseter Talks Wine, Gets Hollywood Star
With the success of The Lion King 3D, Disney’s 3-D conversion factory (we kid) will be working overtime to pump out four new conversions for limited theatrical 3D engagements. The following titles from Walt Disney and Pixar Animation Studios will be released in 2012 and… Read More »Disney and Pixar Announce Slate of Four New 3-D Re-releases into Movie Theaters
Update: this is no longer a rumor. A press conference with James Cameron, Bob Iger and Tom Staggs is was held earlier today at Imagineering. From the Disney Parks Blog: James and his producing partner Jon Landau and their team at Lightstorm Entertainment will serve… Read More »Disney is adding the world of Avatar to its theme parks
In case you’ve been under a rock (Pride Rock?) you probably know that Disney has put a shiny coat of 3D magic on the classic film, Lion King. Saturday was the world premiere of Disney’s Lion King 3D at the El Capitan Theatre in Hollywood. Yes, I know I just said “the the” and I’m okay with it.
The Disney Blog had press credentials, so I took my fancy camera (read, iPhone) and my talent (read, 8-year-old son Atticus) and bellied up to the green carpet to let the stars come to us — which they did by the limo-ful (or whatever they drove, I didn’t have to valet this time).
Sadly, my iPhone couldn’t capture sound and picture with any clarity. I blame the thousands of people around us and the gentle lullaby of Hollywood Blvd. And by “gentle” I mean loud and freaky. Rather than have video without audio I went with the still photographs and casual conversation. Plus, my son was a little too nervous to conduct the interviews, and it was really, really hot out. We decided to play it cool, which works for us.
When you have Johnny Depp, aka the billion dollar box office guarantee, atop the marquee, you’d think $50 million isn’t that much to haggle over. Regardless, Disney studios has halted production on “The Lone Ranger” in an effort to shave said sum off the reported… Read More »Disney halts production of Depp Vehicle “The Lone Ranger”