HEELLLOOO EVERYBODY!! Welcome back to this patch of the internet that I call the Two Minute Drill. Its finally Friday and I hope you all have fun plans. Lets get started shall we?
Yo Adrian! I'm BACK!!!
In 2007 a movie legend returns. "Rocky Balboa" the sixth in a series of films about the boxer will hit theatres Feb 9th, 2007. This is another franchise that was in development limbo for years. Not quite as long as the "Superman" franchise, but it did take a long time. The reason it took so long wasnt because of casting issues or anything like that. Simply put, studios wondered if the world really needed another "Rocky" movie. Sylvester Stallone actually had a script written for this movie back in 2000. He pitched it to various studios, but none really seemed interested. Seeing as how "Rocky V" was such a disaster, one can hardly blame them for not taking a chance on a character that hasnt been seen since 1990. But this is Hollywood we're talking about and one can never say never.
MGM finally agreed to develop the movie in 2002, but put restrictions on Stallone's budget. They offered "only" $15 million to finance the film. Stallone however wanted more than that (rumors put the number anywhere between $30-$60 million) and decided to pull the plug on the project himself.
Then late last year Sony purchased MGM and one of the first projects they got going was the Stallone's "Rocky VI" movie. This time they gave Stallone the money he requested and the movie was alive again.
SPOILER ALERT: IF YOU WANT TO KNOW THE PLOT OF THE MOVIE HIGHLIGHT THE BLANK SPOT BELOW, OTHERWISE MOVE ON TO THE NEXT PARAGRAPH
This story is set years after the events of "Rocky V". Rocky Balboa is retired and owns a restaurant in Philadelphia. He lives alone now as his wife Adrian has passed on. One day the reigning World Champion Mason "The Line" Dixon challenges Rocky to exhibition bout to prove who is the "Greatest of All Time". Balboa takes the offer and soon he is training for a return to the ring.
Shooting began last month and Sony has already released the first batch of stills from the movie
Time will tell if Rocky can take box office crown once again.
If You Cant Beat Em, Buy Them: Disney to Buy Pixar??!!
For years Pixar and Disney have been partners in the animation field cranking out such htis as "Toy Story 2", "Finding Nemo" and "The Incredibles." Each film scored big at the box office and it seemed that things were going along fine. Then Pixar CEO and owner Steve Jobs felt that Pixar should strike out on its own and become independent of Disney. Instead of Disney helping out with the costs of the films and in turn receiving half of the revenue of the films, Jobs wanted Pixar to finance their own films and just pay Disney a smaller "distribution fee". Well that didnt sit well with former Disney CEO Michael Eisner who wanted to keep their current deal intact.
Eisner and Jobs traded shots on the business pages with Jobs ridiculing Disney management while Eisner pointed out that Pixar films wouldnt do well without Disney's marketing muscle behind it. After months trading verbal jabs, Jobs finally decided he had enough and stated that as soon as their contract was up, Pixar would find another studio to do business with.
Then late last year Bob Iger took over as Disney CEO and his first point of order was to get back into Pixar's good graces.
Well, not only are he and Steve Jobs on the same page, there's actually an offer on the table for Disney to purchase Pixar animation outright.
Things are still in the negotiating stages, but by all accounts things are so far along that a deal could be made as soon as this upcoming Monday. The Disney board will meet this weekend to discuss the ramifications such a deal will have on the company.
If Disney does buy Pixar, Jobs would become the new Chairman of the Disney Board (The #2 job @ Disney) and the largest stockholder in the company. What this means is unclear (other than the fact that he's going to be richer than he is now) but stockholders and Wall St. analyst are excited at the possibility of Disney and Pixar being one company.
As far as what fans of both companies are thinking? Well so far reaction has been positive as people are wondering just what kind of changes Jobs would try to implement as the new Chairman of Disney. We'll find out Monday if this thing goes through or not!
Are You Ready for Some Football?!
Its almost time for Super Bowl XL (40) and this Sunday the conference championships will be held to decide who will take the trip to the bowl.
In the AFC we've got the Denver Broncos vs The Pittsburgh Steelers, while the NFC side has the Seattle Seahawks going up against the Carolina Panthers. If these games live up to the hype, we're in for some great football this weekend.
Jake Plummer looks to lead the Broncos back the Super Bowl.
My Predictions: OK, I havent done this in awhile, but lets see how right I am this time. In the AFC game you've got two top notch teams in the Broncos and Steelers. This one is difficult to call because both teams match up pretty evenly. As much as I would love to see the Steelers' Jerome Bettis win his first Super Bowl ring, I'm gonna have to go with Denver. The Broncos are undefeated at home and that Mile High Air takes alot out of visiting teams.
The NFC game should be a classic (If both teams are on their game) and while Seattle is a tough home team also, I have to give the slight edge to the Panthers because they are just as tough to beat on the road. So my Super Bowl XL prediction is Broncos vs Panthers. If I'm wrong, feel free to blast me on Monday! ;-)
Final Thought
I started this blog about a year ago and I wouldve never in my wildest dreams thought it would become as popular as it has. I see the hit count on my page and I'm just like "Wow...you like me..you really like me!" ;-) Seriously, I want to say thank you to YOU my readers. You push me to keep updating and I do it for you. So thanx for taking time out of your day to read what a would be journalist has to say. Here's to another year of "The Drill". ;-)
Thats it for this week. Hopefully I'll be back on Monday with more news. Til then..
DQ
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