Welcome one and all to the Drill! Sorry for the lack of updates this week. It wasnt because of lack of material I assure you. I've just been so busy, blah, blah..you've heard it all before. I apologize for the delays.Lets get to it shall we?
Disney and Pixar: Together at Last
Well, by now most of the dust has settled and finally Disney and Pixar are together. This is HUGE news as it has the potential to change things at the Walt Disney Company forever.
Lets start with the deal itself: Disney paid a whopping $7.4 billion for Pixar. The two companies will remain seperate entities for now, but there is talk of possibly merging Walt Disney Feature Animation (WDFA) and Pixar Animation into one division.
Because this was an "all stock" deal, Pixar CEO and owner Steve Jobs becomes the company's #1 shareholder and gives him a seat on the Disney Board of Directors.
Jobs' inclusion at Disney is what most Wall St. people are looking forward to. Jobs' has always been known as a visionary (Much like Walt Disney) and his ability to think "outside the box" so to speak is something that has been sorely lacking at Disney for quite some time. Many people are anxious to see what impact Jobs will have on the Disney culture.
But Jobs isnt the only big name going to Disney. Pixar Executive VP of Creative John Lasseter is also gaining some power at Disney. If you dont know who Lasseter is, let me give you a quick bio.
Lasseter once worked at Disney as an animator, but after having his ideas shot down due to corporate bs, he moved to Apple to help start up Pixar Animation. After years of producing short animated films in CGI, Lasseter (with Steve Jobs' blessing) and his team of animators created the first full length, completley CGI animated film which we know now as "Toy Story". If not for Lasseter we wouldnt have "Toy Story" or "Finding Nemo" or any of those other awesome Pixar movies that the world loves. Lasseter is known in many circles as being a creative genius and someone who understands what people want to see. Lasseter himself wants to be known as this generations "Walt Disney". He takes pride that, just like Walt created the first full length feature cartoon (Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs) he created the first animated CGI feature film. Lasseter truly loves the Disney legacy and for years Disney had been trying to lure him back into the fold.
So now he's back and he's pretty much going to dicatate whats going to come out of Disney Animation and Walt Disney Imagineering.
You heard right: Lasseter well also be overseeing what gets built at Disney parks around the world! His official titles will be Chief Creative Officer of WDFA /Pixar Animation and Principal Creative Adviser at Walt Disney Imagineering. He will answer to nobody but Disney CEO Bob Iger. This move in particular has Disney fans excited as they want to see what kind of ideas he will come up with for the parks. (It should be noted that Lasseter actually began his Disney career at Disneyland as a Jungle Cruise skipper.) Lasseter already made his first impact on Disney Animation, shutting down pre-production on Disney's "Toy Story 3".
That's right, Disney had already began work (without Pixar) on another "Toy Story" sequel. Its not that Lasseter was against making another "Toy Story" movie, he just hated the story that Disney had come up with. So we might still see a "Toy Story 3", but it'll be done right. ;-)
So with Jobs and Lasseter installed at Disney things are looking bright for 2006 and beyond. Me personally, I cant wait to see what Jobs does in that boardroom. He doesnt have patience for Hollywood types and their restrictive thinking, so it'll be interesting to see if there's a "house cleaning" on the horizon for the board. As the company's largest shareholder, alot will be riding on Disney's success for him personally so you can bet he's going to pull out all the stops to make things happen.
Goodbye WB and UPN! Hello, The CW?!
The other big "entertainment" story that broke this week was the surprise announcement that this fall The WB and UPN networks would cease to exist and that they would instead merge to become "The CW" (Columbia/Warner).
This is a split 50/50 venture between Warner Bros TV and CBS. Both networks will continue to run as usual until September when the big launch will happen. The TV schedule will be mostly based on The WB's model and lineup(So dont fret Gilmore Girls fans, your show will be back) with some UPN holdovers as well. Shows such as "America's Next Top Model", "Smackdown!" (UPN's longest running and highest rated show) and "Everybody Hates Chris" will be on the new network.
Smackdown and Gilmore Girls on the same network?!
Any show that was borderline about to be cancelled, will probably NOT make the switch however as there just isnt enough room for everyshow. The "FINAL" lineup will be announced in May, so if you're a big UPN or WB fan you might want to tune in then and find out what day "Smallville" or "Girlfriends" will be on. ;-)
Many people were wondering why these two channels merged. It all came down (as most things do) to money. Both networks have yet to turn a profit and it was either merge or go out of business. It really benefits both networks because they compliment each other very well. UPN has sitcoms and WB has dramas so they've got the two major components in place. I'm curious to see though which shows end up being cancelled for lack of space. There's already rumors that "Everwood" and "One Tree Hill" will be dumped. But like I said, the fate of every show will be decided on in May.
Random Stuff
-Disneyland has returned to "off peak" season, so now is the best time to go. Luckily alot of the "50th Anniversary" luster has worn off and its back to "normal" attendance levels. Just be warned that many rides will no doubt be closing in the weeks ahead to be cleaned and repaired.
-ALOT of people have been critical of Kobe Bryant's 81 point game a few nights ago. The words "ball hog", "selfish" and "ego driven" have been thrown around alot. Look, Kobe may not be the most likeable person in the NBA (Or the world for that matter. ;-) ) but there's no denying his greatness on the basketball court. He is one of only a few players who can pretty much control the flow of the game. He is also one of the most entertaining players in the NBA. Besides, if the Lakers were a better team talent wise,he wouldnt have to go out there and score 81 points!!
-Opening in theatres this weekend is "The Mother of All Unneccessary Sequels" Big Momma's House 2!!
Because the first one left SSOO many questions unanswered. (sigh) Then again, who knows? Maybe there's an audience for it. I mean I know two people that are going to see it. ;-)
-OK, so I know I said I would post a "Superman vs Batman" script review this week. Obviously that didnt happen. My super short review is this: It was too ambitious a project and wouldve been a bad way to re-introduce the "Superman" character to movie goers. If all goes good, I'll have the FULL review next week.
OK, that will do it for now. Hope you all have great weekends. Til the next time!
DQ
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