Monday Mania

Greetings one and all! Welcome back to the "Drill". Hope you all had good weekends! Lets get on with the show shall we?

 

Don Knotts 1924-2006

Don Knotts

This past weekend a true TV Icon passed away. Don Knotts, known to the older genaration as deputy "Barney Fife" from "The Andy Griffith Show" and as colorful landlord "Ralph Furley" on "Three's Company" passed away at age 81. The iconic star was said to have been surrounded at his passing by family and friends, including Andy Griffith, his costar of more than 50 years.

Most recently, Knotts played "Mayor Turkey Lurkey" in Disney's "Chicken Little".

Knotts recording lines for "Chicken Little"

I never really watched "The Andy Griffith Show", but I LOVED him on "Three's Company". Knotts had a way of stealing whatever scene he was in. Whether it was with his garish outfits, his goofy facial expressions or his trademark "SMMOOTHH" after drinking hard liquor. He always made me crack up.

Mr Furley rox!!

Goodbye Mr Knotts and thanx for the laughs. May you RIP.

 

Spider Man 3 and X-Men 3

Two trilogies. Two films that fans cant wait to see. We'll start off with X-Men 3. The film has officially been titled X-Men: The Last Stand. This could refer to either the LAST film or just some last big fight between the mutants. I'm pretty sure its the last film though. Regardless, this one looks like its gonna blow "X2"out of the water. The only glaring omission is "Nightcrawler". Part of what made the second film so good was his involvement in the story. I guess we'll see what the new mutants bring to the dance so to speak.

The film doesnt open til May, but already billboards are popping up.

"Take a Stand. May 26th"

I spotted one of these driving down Ventura Blvd over the weekend. I guess you cant start the hype too early. ;-)

 

As far as "Spider-Man 3" is concerned Sony released the first look at Spider-Man in this film

 Pretty sleek

No, its not a black and white picture. "Spidey" is going to be wearing a black suit in this one. Whether or not that means he's going to be wearing it the whole movie remains to be seen. It could also be him in the Venom version of the Spider-Man costume. Regardless, it looks COOL. Sony also released the first picture of Thomas Hayden Church as "Sandman" (In his human form).

"Mr Sandman.."haha

They're really trying to capture the look of his comic counterpart arent they?

I'm sure the sand will be CGI in the movie.

 

Weekend Box Office

 

Tyler Perry as Madea in "Tyler Perry's Madea's Family Reunion"

1) Tyler Perry's Madea's Family Reunion, $30.0 million: For those of you that dont know, Tyler Perry is a playwright who created a character named "Madea" for his plays. His shows have almost always sold out, but he hadnt really been in the mainstream until last year when his movie "Diary of a Mad Black Woman" scored big with movie goers. Almost a year later, Perry returns as "Madea" in this film. Its opening might be a surprise to some, but for those who are fans of his work its not.

2) Eight Below, $15.8 million: Last weeks champ drops to #2. Its grossed about $45 mil. so far so its doing ok. Probably the best "family" film out there, so that should help it boost its box office take a tad more.

3) The Pink Panther, $11.1 million: Unchanged from last week. Many thought this movie would bomb considering it was delayed so much. Looks like they were wrong.

4) Date Movie, $9.1 million: Drops to fourth and fading fast. Looks like word of mouth might be killing this movie. As I stated last week: It had some laughs, but relied way too much on gross out jokes. It reminded many of the first "Scary Movie". Although I agree with that assessment, at least the first "Scary Movie" had more than just gross out stuff to get laughs.

5) Curious George, $7.2 million: Another film many believed would struggle to find its audience. I have to give Universal their props. They decided to release this film early in the year in a time frame that had little competition in the "family" genre.

 

OK, that should do it for today. Hopefully have more stuff for you as the week progresses. Take care everyone and thanks for reading.

 

DQ

Thursday Misc.

 

Welcome back to the Two Minute Drill!! Today is one of those "blank" days where I dont know what to write about. So its gonna be a bunch of different things today.

 

Vin Scully Re-signs With Dodgers

The Voice of the Dodgers

Throughout the years, there have been many changes within the Dodgers organization. Be it new owners or new players only one thing has remained a constant and that is Vin Scully. "The Voice" of the Dodgers, Scully has been broadcasting Dodgers games for 57 years!! The only other person in the Dodgers organization that say he has been there as long is "Mr Dodger" himself Tommy Lasorda.

Showing off the new "Vin Scully Press Box in 2001

At the ripe age of 78, Scully signed a three year contract that may very well end up being his last. Scully hinted that he may retire after this new contract is up. If that is true, then it will be a very sad day for Dodgers fans and the end of an era.

Recieving one of his many awards

For most fans, Scully is the only baseball voice they know. Widely considered the best in the game, Scully has won numerous awards including being named the California Sports Broadcaster of the Year 27 times by the National Sportswriters & Sportscasters Association, and in 2000 was voted as the "Sportscaster of the 20th Century," by more than 500 national members of the American Sportscasters Association.

In 1982, Scully was inducted into the Major League Baseball Hall of Fame. Shortly after that, he received his very own star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

Unveiling his star on the Walk of Fame

I personally will never forget his call of Game 1 of the 1988 World Series, when Kirk Gibson hit that dramatic homerun that gave the Dodgers the victory: High fly ball into rightfield...she is GGOONNEE!!!!" After pausing to allow the crowd noise to subside he continued: "In a season that has been so improbable, the IMPOSSIBLE has happened!!"

Its good to know that we'll be hearing his trademark "Its time for Dodgers baseball!" for at least three more years.

 

Superman Returns News

Not a joke. Superman-opoly is coming! ;-)

Through a friend I have learned that the first rough cut for "Superman Returns" clocked in at 2 hrs 45 min!! Obviously, the final version wont be that long, but it is a sign that director Bryan Singer is making this an epic film. More than likely, I have heard that this film will end up being just a tad over two hours like "Batman Begins" was.

Speaking of which, it was reported today that both "Batman Begins" and "Superman Returns" have had their respective sequels greenlighted. "Batman Begins 2" (Obviously not the final name) will be released in 2008 with the Superman sequel following in 2009.

Friday the 13th: Reloaded

Jonathan Liebesman, director of the upcoming "Texas Chainsaw Massacre" prequel is in negotiations to remake the original "Friday the 13th" for New Line Cinema.

He's comin back!! sshh-shh..kill..kill

This time around, Jason will be the main killer, unlike the original where it turned out to be his mom. There were rumors going around that this film would be fast tracked to be released this year in October for Friday the 13th, but New Line squashed those rumors saying that the "Chainsaw" movie would be in theatres October 6th and the new "Friday" movie will release in 2007.

 

A Walt Disney Original is Back With Disney

I wasnt able to report on this, but I wanted to chip in my two cents on it anyway. Back in the 1920's, an unknown animator named Walt Disney created a rabbit character named Oswald the Lucky Rabbit. He was an immediate hit and Disney had his first animated star. After several Oswald cartoons were made, Walt wanted to make better Oswald cartoons and went to New York to speak with his distributor, Charles Mintz (representing Universal) about an increase in his budget. Mintz refused and notified Walt that he would have to accept a 20% cut in budget and that if he refused, Universal (The legal owners of the character) would take the series away from.

Walt of course refused and was forced to give up his creation. This twist of fate however, led to the defining moment in animation history. On the train ride back from New York to California, Walt began brainstorming and trying to come up with a new character. He literally redesigned Oswald from a rabbit into a mouse and gave him the name "Mortimer". His wife spoke up though and felt that "Mortimer" was too pompous sounding and suggested "Mickey". The rest of course is history.

Oswald and Mickey

For years though, the loss of Oswald haunted Walt and he tried to regain the rights to the character for several years and vowed never to allow himself to be put into a similar situation again.

Flash forward to 2006. New Walt Disney Company CEO Bob Iger made a promise to Diane Disney Miller that he would do his best to get Oswald back to Disney. The first thing he needed though, was to identify something Disney had that Universal would want bad enough.

This turned out to be ESPN Monday Night Football announcer Al Michaels.

Al Michaels

NBC (Which is owned by Universal) wanted Michaels to head up their new NFL broadcasts. The problem was though, Michaels was under contract with ESPN (owned by Disney) and wasnt going anywhere. This is where Iger saw his opportunity.

He would allow Michaels out of his contract for more exclusive sports highlights from NBC, more rights to Olympics highlights and as a "throwaway" the rights to "Oswald the Lucky Rabbit"

Universal quickly agreed and returned Oswald to Disney without thinking twice.

So after almost 80 years, Oswald the Lucky Rabbit is home and I think Walt Disney can rest in peace a little easier. ;-)

 

OK, that will do it for this edition. Hopefully be back manana, to wrap this thing up. Til the next time!

DQ

Send Feedback to twominutedrill8@yahoo.com

Taboo Tuesday

 

Welcome back to the Drill!! Sorry for the lack of updates. Caught some sort of bug and next thing you know I've been fighting this cold or allergies or whatever I caught for days now. Still congested, but hopefully that will clear up soon. Lets get too it!

Dodger Stadium Construction (UPDATE!!)

Work continues on the renovation of Dodger Stadium. Below are more shots of the nearly complete project.

A view from centerfield! Lookin good!

Closeup of the reserve level with those spiffy new cupholders!

Installation begins on the box seats

Another view of the box seats

A look out at the nearly compelete stadium. All that remains is the field level and dugout club areas.

Each time I see more pictures of the stadium, it makes me that much more excited for the upcoming season to start. Its really starting to come together and the colors are looking good. Cant wait to see the finished the project and I really cant wait to see the new "Box" seats.

 

Barry's Done?

Barry Bonds

Superstar San Francisco Giants' outfielder Barry Bonds announced over the weekend that this season might be his last. Barry, cited health concerns for his reason for quiting. He also went on to say that the "game just isnt fun anymore" and that he pretty much pops pills all day for the pain in his knees. He's alsot tired of the daily scrutiny of his alleged steriod use.

Now, as you all know I'm a huge Dodgers fan and I despise ANY Giant's player. Bonds though is on a different level. There is no player more hated in Dodger Nation than Barry Bonds. Whenever the Giants come to town there is always a "Barry Sucks" chant going. Even if he isnt playing!! This hate comes from two different things: one is the fact that he just kills Dodgers pitching (No denying the facts, as much as I hate to admit it) and the second is that he just isnt that likeable a person. From his surly attitude towards the media (and even his own fans!) to his cocky/self absorbed style of play. Its one thing to have the skills to be one of the best in the game, but its another to act like an a**hole just because you are one of the best.

Its fake, but I still like this picture

Bonds however doesnt care if you dont like him, he just goes out there to "entertain" according to his own admission. He once stated that baseball shouldnt have the same type of drug testing that the olympics has because baseball players are "entertainers" and not athletes. Which I'm sure was news to the other 700 plus "entertainers" in the big leagues.

Barry seriously needs to just shut his  mouth and play. If all he's going to be doing is beig a distraction to his teammates year in and year out then its time for him to go.

 

Weekend Box Office

 

Paul Walker in "Eight Below"

1) Eight Below, $25 mil: If there's one thing Disney does wwaayy better than any other movie studios is "inspirational" films like this one. The people know this too, because they turned out in droves to see it.

2) Date Movie, $22.3 mil: The romantic comedy spoof movie opens in second. I went to see this movie and i was somewhat disappointed. There are some laugh out loud moments, but overall I felt the movie couldve been much better. Lots of gross out humor in this one, so if thats not your cup of tea, then I suggest you pass.

3) The Pink Panther, $21.0 mil: Last weeks top film drops two slots. Doesnt look like its gonna perform that well for MGM. Its their first release since they were purchased by Sony several months ago, so its not a good sign. See if they're other films do better business

4) Curious George, $15.3 mil: This film was in development for a very long time. It seems that the wait was worth it as Universal has put out a nice little family film that has scored ok with critics and audiences.

5) Final Destination 3, $12.5 mil: Alright! Another gory "lets see the sickest way we can kill people" film! ;-) I personally think the first film was such a great and well written suspense/horror film. It didnt have that much gore so to speak, but it got its point across quite well. The second one was all blood and gore and the third one seems more of the same.

OK, that'll do it for this edition. Hopefully it'll be another fun filled content happy week! Til the next time

DQ

MIA

Greetings once again

Sorry for the lack of updates this week. I've been feeling under the weather all week and I havent been able to put together an update. Hopefully tomorrow (Friday) I'll be able to put something up. Otherwise, the updates will return next week. I apologize again.

 

DQ

Thursday Update

Greetings one and all! Welcome back to the Drill. For today's update I thought I would share with you the changes that are coming to a beloved Disneyland attraction. "Pirates of the Carribean" will be closing in March for an extensive refurbishment and for the addition of new props, effects and yes, new Audio Animatronic figures. All these new additions will be tied into this summers "Pirates of the Caribbean: Deadman's Chest". So for the first time a ride, will be re-done with a movie that was inspired by the ride. Still with me? ;-) So lets prepare to "set sail" and remember: Dead men, tell no tales...

 

Pirates of the Carribean: New and "Improved"?

Yo-ho, yo-ho....

Upon its return in June the ride will look and feel exactly as it always has as you float past the Blue Bayou restaurant patio. Once you've plunged down the first and second drops though, things will begin to change.

The mythical character of Davy Jones plays prominently in both the second and third movie installments, and his ghostly voice will now echo throughout the first section of the caverns as the boats sail past the first few show scenes.

The "Hurricane Scene", the "Crews Quarters Scene", the "Captains Quarters Scene" and the "Treasure Scene" will all be unchanged visually except for a few new props used in the movie, but Davy Jones will offer a dialogue via the new audio system that will set up the tale of a marauding crew of pirates who are searching for their double-agent shipmate Jack Sparrow.

Hmm, I wonder what his AA figure will look like..

 

As the boats float past the Treasure Scene and into the dark cavern that leads to main part of the ride, the fun really begins as a new projection effect appears on a "mist curtain" above the boats. (Kinda like the rats in "Indiana Jones") Davy Jones appears in the mist, looking just as he will in the upcoming movies as a true pirate's pirate with a beard made of wiggling octopus tentacles.

Concept art for Davey Jones

It's at this point in the ride that WDI will attempt to explain that the voice that has warned that "Dead Men Tell No Tales!" since 1967 has actually been Davy Jones all along. And just beyond this new effect the rockwork in the soaring cavern area will be rebuilt with a ships crow's nest with a skeleton slumped over the side. But as the boats pass below, shafts of moonlight will hit the skeleton revealing rotting flesh and the animatronic skeleton will lean over the side of the crow's nest and utter ominous warnings to the passengers floating below.

 

As the boats sail out into the "Battle Scene", and one of the ride's iconic moments, the riders will discover that the original 1967 pirate ship known as the "Wicked Wench" has been remade into the Black Pearl seen in the movies.

Soon to be the Black Pearl

The familiar animatronic pirate captain will be replaced by a new animatronic version of Captain Barbossa from the movies, and Captain Barbossa's parrot will also make his big debut before he returns repeatedly later on to help the new plotline along from scene to scene.

Wonder if he'll look like this?

Captain Barbossa will have dialogue that will accuse the townspeople of hiding Jack Sparrow from him, and WDI hopes to quickly establish that the pirates will begin their rampage through the town all in an effort to root out Jack Sparrow. New effects are also planned in this area that will simulate cannonballs passing overhead through the use of sharp blasts of air aimed at the boats.

As the boats enter the "Dunking the Mayor Scene," the first of three Jack Sparrow animatronics makes its appearance as Jack appears to hide behind barrels and crates.

"Dont tell him Carlos! DONT BE CHEEKIN!"

The Auctioneer Scene will play out much as it does now, before the boats sail on to the "Gluttony Scene" where Jack Sparrow appears again.

The barrel that says "Pescado" will be Jack's new home. ;-)

This time, Jack will be hiding in the barrel just behind the fat pirate, peeking out of the top of the barrel. The Burning City Scene won't be changed much, if anything.

But as the boats pass by the Jail Scene, Jack Sparrow appears a third and final time on the opposite side of the flume. Here he'll be seen escaping with a bag of treasure as he hums the "Yo Ho" theme song and laughs at his hapless fellow pirates stuck in the jail across the waterway.

Still one of the best scenes from any ride. ;-)

Barbossa's parrot appears on the ramp back up to the main level, and the voice of Davy Jones also will be added to that area as he laments that we won't be so lucky to escape next time.

The ride is scheduled to reopen late June and there are also rumors that the world premier of "Dead Man's Chest" will be held @ Disneyland. Whether or not that rumor is true, remains to be seen.

Well, hope you liked this sneak peek. It sounds like alot of fun, but there are ALOT of Disneyland purists who HATE the idea of "Pirates" being redone. I'm going to reserve judgment until i get to ride it.

That'll do it for this update. MAYBE, just MAYBE I'll get that Superman vs Batman script review up soon. I apologize again. Til the next time!

DQ

Monday Mania

Hello everyone and welcome back to the drill!! Hope you all had great weekends! Lets get to it.

Super Bowl XL Thoughts

Well, another Super Bowl in the books and what do you know? I got it right! ;-)

Winning coach Bill Cower gets the "bath" after the Steelers Super Bowl victory

The Pittsburgh Steelers defeated the Seattle Seahawks 21-10 in a game that was fast at some points and dragged at others. The game was not without controversy however, as many questionable calls went against the Seahawks.

Now THATS loyalty. A Seahawks fan sits alone after the game.

Controversy or not, Seattle's inability to get their offense going sealed their fate. Many people thought Seattle would give Pittsburgh a run for its money and pull off the upset, but it was not to be.

As expected, Steelers' running back Jerome Bettis called it quits after the Super Bowl.

Who says dreams dont come true? Jerome Bettis holds the Super Bowl trophy

With this championship, Pittsburgh now has five Lombardi Trophies. That would tie them with the Dallas Cowboys and San Francisco 49'ers for most in the NFL.

So another NFL season ends and we have a new champion. Can the Steelers make it two in a row next season? I guess we'll find out in year. ;-)

Super Bowl Commercials

There were a few that stood out this year, but not as many as in the past. The Ameriquest "Dont Judge" spots were hilarious. The Sprint "Crime Deterrent" commercial was a good one also. Also the Budweiser ads were well done. I still miss the Bud Bowl commercials however. ;-)

 

Harry Potter Movie News

Principal photography began today on "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix", the fifth movie in the Harry Potter franchise. After the smash success of the last Harry Potter film ("Goblet of Fire" has grossed $286 million as of this writing) you can bet the stakes will be high for this one. Joining the usual regulars for this film are Imelda Staunton as Dolores Umbdridge

Umbridge is one of the most hated Harry Potter characters.

And unknown actress Evanna Lynch has landed the role of the quirky Luna Lovegood

"Loony Luna!! Loony Luna!!" ;-)

This film isnt scheduled to release til June 2007 and hopefully the wait will be worth it.

WEEKEND BOX OFFICE

Camella Belle in "When A Stranger Calls"

1)When A Stranger Calls, $21.6 million: Another remake of a horror movie, "Stranger" has been hyped up for weeks now. A solid opening for what is normally a slow time for movies (Super Bowl Weekend). It exceeded studio estimates that had it pegged at anywhere between $12-$15 million. I dont think it will keep the top spot next week however.

2) Big Momma's House 2, $13.6 million: It drops down a notch, but that was expected. With the lack of comedies in theatres, this one might make some good money after all.

3) Nanny McPhee, $9.7 million: See above and replace "comedies" with "family films" ;-)

4) Brokeback Mountain, $6.0 million: The Post Award Show Bounce continues for this film. As it rakes in the awards, more and more people continue to be drawn to the film. If the word of mouth/curiosity continues to be strong for this, we might see it take a the top spot in this weak movie going time.

5) Hoodwinked, $5.3 million: See number 2 but replace "comedies" with "animated films". Seriously, this film wasnt expected to hang around and yet it's stuck in the top 5. The quality of the animation isnt going to win anybody over, but the story and jokes will.

 

Well, that will do it for this edition. Here's to a great week ahead! Til the next time

DQ

TGIF!!

Welcome back to the drill!!! TGIF people!! Thats all I can say!! Hope you all have fun plans for the weekend! Lets get this show on the road..

 

Super Bowl XL Preview

ARE YOU READY??!!

After what seemed like an enternity (Well, to NFL fans anyway) Super Bowl XL (40, not Extra Large...gotta love the marketing people!) will kick off this Sunday. This years edition features the Pittsburgh Steelers vs the Seattle Seahawks. These are two teams that not many picked to go all the way, but yet here we are.

The Steelers are considered 4 point favorites at this point. But, you can never count out the underdogs and Seattle is going to be playing for respect.

Seattle QB Matt Hasellbeck

This game has special meaning for Pittsburgh Running Back Jerome "The Bus" Bettis as it will be his final game and his last chance to win the Super Bowl ring that has alluded him his entire career.

The Bus is rollin in

You can bet the Steelers will do all they can to make Bettis' dream come true.

My Prediction: OK, keep in mind I've been horrible at this lately. So dont be takin my prediction to the bank! My gut tells me that Seattle will pull this out, just because everybody is underestimating them. But the Steelers are red hot in these playoffs and have seemed in control of every game. The Seahawks have an explosive offense, however the Steelers defense has been awesome. Whoever wins, it will be a great game. My final pick though will be Pittsburgh. Cmon, let me get at least ONE right. ;-)

 

Spider Man 3 Tid bit

Shooting for the third installment in the franchise has already begun in Los Angeles. And one question has already been answered: Bryce Dallas Howard has already dyed her hair blonde for her role in the film.

"Blonde" Bryce and Gwen Stacy

Yep, it was a good casting choice IMO. If things goto plan, we might be seeing the first production stills later this month

 

Superman Vs Batman

No, this isnt the script review I've been promising you. Trust me, its coming! I'm re-writing it because i feel its way too long. So hopefully next week (Either Monday or Tuesday) I'll have it up. Believe it or not though, this movie might still make it after all.

Could be....

Apparently Brandon Routh and Christian Bale have clauses in their contracts to appear in a "Batman/Superman" movie should it ever be made.

NOT the teaser poster ;-)

Of course, it wont be made til both franchises are viable money makers again. But if "Superman Returns" is a smash hit, then it might get green lit very quickly.

Again, next week I hopefully will have the review for the script up. In the meantime, here's a teaser:

He picks up the unconcious terrorists and flies him away from the angry mob. As he's flying over the Metropolis River, the terrorists wakes up, catching Superman off guard.

Terrorist: Thanks for saving my life Superman! I'd like to stick around, but you know what they say "Ashes to ashes, dust to dust!"

Before Superman can react, the terrorist flips open the face of his watch and blows a green powder into his face!

The powder blinds Superman and burns his face. Its KRYPTONITE IN POWDER FORM! He drops the terrorist into the river and falls in himself, desperate to wash the kryptonite off his face. A few second pass, finally our hero flies out of the water, gasping for air. He quickly uses his super vision to scan the area for the terrorist. No sign of him anywhere. But suddenly he sees a face bobbing in the water. He flies down and realizes it the TERRORIST'S FACE. A hollow latex mask. He looks the mask over and on the inside finds in writing in big red letters: THIS IS THE BEGINING!"

Sounds pretty cool doesnt it? Stay tuned for the FULL review.

Well, that will do it for now. Have a great weekend everybody and see you next week!

DQ

Send Feedback to twominutedrill8@yahoo.com

Thursday Update

Hello one and all! Welcome to the first update of February. Wow, time really flies doesnt it? It seems like just yesterday we were ringing in the New Year! Wonder if the rest of the year will be a blur as well.

Dodger Stadium Construction Update

Because of our dry weather in Los Angeles, construction of the new seats at Dodger Stadium has been moving along quite well. Here's some pictures to show you the progress that has been made.

 

The view from the Top Deck towards the newly painted Pavilion seats.

Closeup of the Pavilion seats

Work nears completion on the Reserve level, while the Lodge and Field continue to have their surfaces repaved.

Closeup of the reserve level.

A view of theTop Deck and Reserve from center field.

I'll admit that when I first saw what the colors were going to be for the new seats, I was a bit skeptical. But seeing how well they blend together, I'm excited to see what it will look like once they get all the colors in there. I'm loving the Top Deck seats. The $3 price per game for season tickets up there doesnt hurt either. ;-)

John Lasseter Visits Disney

So as I reported last week, new Disney creative head John Lasseter already made an impact on Disney his first day there as he shut down production of "Disney's Toy Story 3". Now there's reports ofwhat happened once Lasseter took his first tours of "Walt Disney Feature Animation" (WDFA) and "Walt Disney Imagineering" (WDI).

First up he and Ed Catmull (President of Disney/Pixar Animation) toured the WDFA headquarters in Burbank,CA.

WDFA Headquarters

After rounding up the middle managers in the division Lasseter basically told them "If you dont draw for a living, you dont belong in this building." In other words: Lasseter and Catmull are trying to eliminate all unneccessary managment positions from WFDA. By doing this, they hope to free up the lines of communication between the animators and the studio execs. He also announced to the Animation Directors for Disney features that from now on they would only report to himself or Catmull. Not to any of the other Disney Animation execs mind you, but ONLY Lasseter and Catmull.

Thats pretty big news and shows that Lasseter is serious about turning around Disney animation.

Lasseter's day didnt end there however. He hoped in a car and took the 10 minute drive down to WDI Headquarters in Glendale, CA.

WDI Headquarters in Glendale

After arriving he asked to speak only to Tony Baxter, WDI's Senior VP of Design. Not with Imagineering President Don Goodman or Executive VP Tom Fitzgerald. Only Tony Baxter. If you dont know who Baxter is, he was the creative mind behind "Big Thunder Mountain","Splash Mountain" ,"Star Tours" and "Indiana Jones and the Temple of the Forbidden Eye". Baxter is also heading up the re-themeing of the new "Submarine Voyage/Finding Nemo" ride (Scheduled to open in 2007).

Yours truly and Tony Baxter @ Disneyland's 50th Anniversary Preview Day (Yes I am a Disney themepark geek ;-) )

Truly an Imagineering Legend, Lasseter reportedly sat down with Baxter and told him "Tell me about all the stuff that you've wanted to build at the parks for the last 20 years." And then Baxter went through his list of dream projects. After listening to Baxter, Lasseter laid out what his vision for a WDI & WDFA partnership. Where new attractions for the theme parks would be devoloped AT THE VERY SAME TIME as the movie these attractions would be based on.

So that -- let's take "Cars," for example -- you could see Pixar's latest movie in a theater this summer, then drive on over to Anaheim. Where you'd then find a newly rethemed version of Disneyland's Autopia waiting for you. Which would allow you to go ride inside of one of your favorite characters from "Cars."

Hmm, could work. ;-)

Sounds pretty cool doesnt it? And dont think it can't happen. See, before Lasseter agreed to the Pixar/Disney sale, he made it known to Disney CEO Bob Iger that he didnt want ANY budget restraints if he was going to turn around WDI and WDFA. That Disney would have to be willing to spend the money neccessary to churn out quality products again.

WDI entrance area

In fact, when Lasseter rounded up the WDI crew (after his talk with Baxter) one of the first things he said was "The Walt Disney company isnt going to make anymore medicore attractions!"

 

Many insiders are predicting that Lasseter is next going to do some serious housecleaning at both divisions. I'm wondering whats going to happen to those WDI Execs that thought "Disney's California Adventure" was a good idea.

A possible theme change in the future?

Its going to be an exciting year for Disney I think. ;-)

OK, a short update I'm afraid. I'll be back tommorrow (hopefully) with my Super Bowl XL picks and more. Til the next time.

DQ