Posts Tagged ‘Disney’

Considering how litigious Disney is, how does Australia’s Archbishop of Sydney, Cardinal Pell get away with ranting about the Donald Duck heresy?

In a compilation of essays due out this week, the Cardinal criticizes Catholics who support contraception, abortion and stem-cell research on the basis of their own moral conscience. We always thought Jiminy Cricket suggested that you “let your conscience be your guide.”

English historian Felipe Fernandez Armesto coined the term Donald Duck heresy, which according to Pell,

rests squarely on the fallacy of overwhelming natural virtue. All you have to do to fulfil yourself is follow your natural impulses. Donald Duck always does this and always gets into trouble. It is a heresy which sanctifies mistakes, provided one is genuine, being oneself.

Pell clearly has no idea who he’s dealing with. Disney usually takes a very dim view of those who would impugn the good name of any of their copyrighted characters.

But, if the MouseHouse didn’t take on Hamas, will they ignore the Catholic Church, too?

Game Plan Picks Off Kingdom
Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson rocked the box-office over the weekend with his family laffer The Game Plan from Disney. The kid pic opened at $22.7 million, exceeding weekend expecations, THR reports. The showing bested the No. 2 movie in theaters, the Jamie Foxx, Jennifer Garner-starrer The Kingdom, which grossed $17.7 million.

Desperate Housewives Win Night for ABC
The women of Wisteria Lane saw their season premiere last night on ABC and the Desperate Housewives showing was good enough for a first place finish in the primetime race, THR reports, but the ratings were still off 23% from last year’s season opener. However, THR also writes that it was the show’s best ratings since Nov. 26, 2006.

Morgan Readies Queen Sequel
Oscar-nominated scribe Peter Morgan is penning a sequel to the Helen Mirren-starrer The Queen, reports Variety. The pic – Morgan’s third in a ‘Blair trilogy’ – will center on former U.K. prime minister Tony Blair’s relationships with presidents Bill Clinton and George W. Bush. Michael Sheen, who played Blair in The Queen, is expected to reprise his role. But the bigger question is – who will play Clinton and Bush?!

- CHRIS GARDNER

Transformers 2 Picks a Date
Paramount and DreamWorks are moving ahead with plans for a Transformers 2 project, stamping down June 26, 2009 as the release date, reports Variety. The story says the date is just a target but isn’t “ironclad” as they still need to lock in Michael Bay and work out the ongoing tension between the two studios.

Reiner Backs Clinton
Variety‘s Ted Johnson writes in today’s paper that director Rob Reiner has given Hillary Clinton’s campaign a boost by endorsing her in the upcoming election. Johnson writes that Reiner’s decision is a “key endorsement” for Hil because he’s “one of the entertainment industry’s most politically-active figures.”

THR reports that Disney is canceling its Disney Mobile MVNO service, the second such Disney-branded project to bite the dust in less than a year following ESPN Mobile. Read the full Disney shuttering story here.

- CHRIS GARDNER

Shepherd to Join View, Variety Says
Variety does some source leaning in today’s paper, announcing that Sherri Shepherd is the new cohost on The View, taking the fifth spot on the morning chatfest alongside Barbara Walters, Joy Behar, Elizabeth Hasselbeck and newly-installed Whoopi Goldberg. The trade paper cited its sources in confirming the story, which also says the announcement will be officially unveiled on this Monday’s show.

Rudin Wrangles Graves Novel
Producer Scott Rudin has reeled in the movie rights to Robert Graves historical novel, I, Claudius, in a major $2 million deal, reports Variety. Michael Fleming‘s story also says that The Departed pair of Leonardo DiCaprio and scribe William Monahan will become attached to the project, likely to end up at Disney where Rudin has a production deal.

Toronto In’Panic’
A looming actors strike next summer is having an effect on the Toronto International Fim Festival, reports THR’s Gregg Goldstein. The possible strike cloud hanging over the industry’s head coupled with new distributors and few Oscar contending pics has added to the pressure at the fest, which is in a mood of “panic” according to one of his sources. Read the pre-fest recap here.

- CHRIS GARDNER

Burton Busts Out Todd in Venice
Tim Burton took his filmmaking act to the Venice Film Festival where he picked up a Golden Lion Award for lifetime achievement. In return, Burton took the festival opportunity to unspool an eight-minute sneak of the big-screen adaptation of his next pic, Sweeney Todd starring longtime actor collaborator Johnny Depp. Variety reports that Burton described the film – likely a potential Oscar pic for Paramount/DreamWorks – as an “old-fashioned horror movie with music in it.” And yes, Depp can carry a tune!

Big Cash for Big Name Directors
Robert Rodriguez, Ricky Gervais, Walter Salles, Ryan Murphy, Richard Kelly, Bennett Miller and Todd Field all got a shot in the arm for their new directing projects thanks to a $250 million equity fund from Media Rights Capital, reports Variety. The fund comes from a combo of Fortune 500 companies, Wall Street money and private equity, Michael Fleming‘s story says, and will cover eight pics that span all genres. Read all about Hollywood’s new influx of cash here.

High School Musical On Top, Again
A new week delivered pretty much the same results on the album charts – as far as the top spot is concerned. Disney‘s High School Musical 2 soundtrack is No. 1 again, selling 210,000 copies. Its cume has now topped the 1 million mark and is joined on the top 10 charts by two other Disney releases including Hannah Montana 2/Meet Miley Cyrus. Read Variety‘s chart breakdown of all the new discs on the market here.

Penn’s Wild New Pic
Sean Penn is back in the director’s chair with a new dramatic pic set for release this fall. But before it bows in theaters, Into the Wild is making the festival rounds with a screening at the picturesque Telluride Film Festival. THR got a glimpse of the pic based on Jon Krakauer’s book. The review is basically mixed but mostly negative calling the pic – a story about a young man’s demise in the wilderness – an “extravagantly ambitious, unfocused film that chronicles this tragic episode with flights of brilliance, self-indulgence and thrilling nature cinematography.”

ITunes Out, Amazon In at NBCUni
When one door opens another one closes. Atleast that’s the case for NBC Universal, which announced on Tuesday that it would not renew its contract for series downloads with iTunes, instead opting for a new deal with Amazon’s Unbox. Deal includes such series as The Office, Heroes, 30 Rock, Bionic Woman and Chuck.
- CHRIS GARDNER

Per Monday’s Romenesko, film critic Roger Ebert says he never asked Disney to remove his trademarked “Thumbs” from the At the Movies with Ebert & Roeper.

I am discussing with Disney my association with the show that Gene Siskel and I started more than 30 years ago. In addition to my personal involvement, we are discussing the continued use of our THUMBS trademarks, owned by myself and the Siskel family.

Contrary to Disney’s press release, I did not demand the removal of the THUMBS. They made a first offer on Friday which I considered offensively low. I responded with a counter-offer. They did not reply to this, and on Monday ordered the THUMBS removed from the show. This
is not something I expected after an association of over 22 years. I
had made it clear the THUMBS could remain during good-faith negotiations.

During my absence from the balcony, I have been excited to participate in the show in ways other than being on the set. I love the show and I love the THUMBS and I hope we will all be reunited soon.

All Is Happy In Happy Valley: The David Mamet TV show The Unit skipped the headaches of filming in L.A. by shooting its exterior shots on a Santa Clarita cul-de-sacs, where locals are happy to pocket location cash and graze at craft services tables.

Emergent Submersibles: Of all the causes to fight for — world peace, an end to poverty, a reduction of greenhouse gasses — some Disney folks chose to battle on behalf of the Disneyland submarine ride. We mock, but maybe it makes sense to rally behind a cause you can actually win.

Now He Tells Us: Years after telling us stories about yellow cake and anthrax and other lethal nonsense, Colin Powell tells NBC’s Meet the Press that the Bush Administration is going in the wrong direction. What a brave statement to make. Now. After the war — and the president — have proven unpopular. Thanks.

Cube=Square: We knew hip-hop was dead when we saw Karl Rove rap. But for those of you who held out hope, we offer you this.

Fun For The Kids And Mom And (Snort) Dad, Too! Disney is apparently not as amused as the rest of us by Keith Richards’ little gag-inducing gag.

Thetan-less Place On Earth: Dennis Rice is leaving Walt Disney Co. to join Tom Cruise and Paula Wagner at UA, saying the duo’s vision “is nothing less than pioneering a new approach to moviemaking.” We wanted to hear him say more, but Cruise whisked Rice away, locked him up in his compound and hooked him up to an ultrasound machine.

Jim Samples has stepped down as head of the Cartoon Network, after the edgy if stupid Aqua Teen Hunger Force marketing effort blew up (or looked like it could) in Boston.

Sarah, the Dutchess of York, aka the other Fergie, gets a producer credit on a project about Queen Victoria that she brought to Graham King. King and Martin Scorese will produce.

Peter Bart admits what the rest of America knows: too many lawyers.

As if the first one wasn’t bad enough: Disney will release Haunted High School Musical, the movie, in 2008. Then High School Musical on Mars in 2009. And then in 2010, High School Musical: Naked Study Hall. Don’t you wish.

Columbia is going to turn Metal Gear Solid into a movie, because all those other video game movies have been so awesome. At least Uwe Boll won’t direct.