Disney movies, Online Disney movies, New Disney Movies

ESPN is expected to bid for rights to the 2014 and 2016 Olympics.

NBC, which as the rights to the Olympics through 2012, has made certain that ESPN gets little in the way of coverage of the sports event.

With Disney owned ESPN’s growing popularity and increased revenues, it is expected that it will challenge NBC’s lock on the Olympics rights.

In commenting on ESPN’s expected bid for the 2014 Winter Games in Sochi, Russia and the 2016 games which Chicago is vying for, John Skipper, head of ESPN’S content, stated “We would never put an event on tape delay.” The network has vowed to air all of the competition live.

With NBC’s unprecedented success with this year’s Beijing Olympics, both CBS and Fox may be joining ESPN in geting the air rights for the future games

Stan Lee’s POW Entertainment has partnered with the Walt Disney Company in creating digital content.

Lee, the creative force behind Marvel Comic’s superheroes, will develop online and mobile versions of “Time Jumper”, his latest product. The storyline for Jumper involves a teen who is able to time travel and battle terrorists via his cell phone.

Lee stated “Comics have always been a springboard for movies. This deal means they can be a springboard for a new form of entertainment.”

Paul Yanover, Executive Vice President and General Manager of Disney Online commented “Our focus is to not only help deliver the story, but also become an interactive part of telling the story of Time Jumper.”

Lee said that Time Jumper “is right up Disney’s alley. It lends itself to new types of media”.

The collaboration is expected to be announced July 25 at Comic Con. Other Disney/Lee ventures include the character of Tigress, Blaze and a private eye named Nick Ratchet.

Disney Interactive Media Group formed

Jun 8, 2008

Disney Interactive Studios and Disney Interactive Group have merged and become Disney Interactive Media Group. Heading this new division is Steve Wadsworth who was the president of Disney Internet Group. Graham Hopper, the former executive vice-president of Disney Interactive studios will be part of the management team.

The merger of the two units is in response to the increasing connectivity between online and mobile game systems. With anticipated revenues of $1 billion for Walt Disney Interactive Group alone, the combining of the two units will also make Disney a powerhouse in the industry.

In a memo issued by Disney President Bob Iger, he stated: “Digital media is a high priority for our company, and focusing all of our Disney-branded interactive digital media efforts in one group will ensure we are best positioned to maximize this emerging and dynamic opportunity. We have made fantastic progress through the efforts of Disney Internet Group and Disney Interactive Studios, and the combined organization will maximize the experience, expertise and talent of both groups across all platforms to be a world-class interactive digital media company.

The uniqueness of the Disney brand provides us an opportunity and an imperative to create a unified Disney-branded experience and community across all connected devices. Additionally, as console and handheld games become more connected to the Internet, and as Internet and mobile become increasingly robust destinations for games and a range of interactive entertainment, we are taking this opportunity to integrate these activities.”

Disney’s closure of its Virtual Magic Kingdom is met with continued protests by players of the popular online game.

In 2005, the free game was part of the 50th Anniversary celebration of the opening of Disneyland. The Virtual Magic Kingdom quickly attracted fans who have spent the past two and a half years accumulating points to get objects for their virtual “rooms.” While it does have adult fans, it is especially popular among children.

When the game shut down, all elements of the Virtual Magic Kingdom disappeared. While Disney is claiming that the VMK was always intended to have a short run, it is believed that money is the main motivation behind the closure.

Disney has two online game sites which are geared towards kids and require a monthly fee to participate. There’s Disney’s Toontown which is $9.95 a month and Club Penguin.

Since the announced end of the Virtual Magic Kingdom, blogs and websites have been created to garner support for the continuation of the game. One site has collected 20,000 signatures.

Regarding the response Disney’s decision, John Spelich, spokesman for Disney’s Internet Group stated “We never want to disappoint a guest at any time, but in this particular case, we said this was a great product and it was extended due to popular demand, and we had to take this action to move forward with our portfolio of franchised products.”

One young player from CT commented “I’ve been playing for almost two years, and I’ve made really good friends and had really good times. I was really sad and really mad when I found out they were closing VMK.”

Ollie Johnston, the last of the legendary Disney animators, passed away at the age of 96.

Johnston was part of the group of Disney animators dubbed “The Nine Old Men” by Walt Disney himself. The other Disney greats who were part of this elite group were John Lounsbury, Les Clark, Woolie Reitherman, Milt Kahl, Eric Larsen, Marc Davis, Ward Kimball and Frank Thomas.

Johnston created such Disney classic characters as Jungle Book’s Baloo, Peter Pan’s Smee, Thumper from Bambi, 101 Dalmations’ Perdita and Cinderella’s Stepsisters. He also was a part of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, Pinocchio, Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, Song of the South, Alice in Wonderland and Fantasia. His final work in animation was in 1977 on the Rescuers.

Pixar’s Brad Bird has been a longtime admirer of Johnston’s and created characters of him and Frank Thomas which appeared in “The Incredibles.”

must watch it is very funny.

The official Star Wars website has the list of guests for each of the 2008 Star Wars Weekends. They also mention that Warrick Davis is returning as the host for the event. Please remember that all these guest lists are subject to change.

June 6-8 — Jeremy Bulloch & Daniel Logan

These two actors have something in common. They both played legendary bounty hunter Boba Fett. Both actors have attended Star Wars Weekends in the past, but never on the same weekend.

June 13-15 — Peter Mayhew & David Prowse

Peter Mayhew played the loyal Wookiee Chewbacca in the original trilogy, and in Revenge of the Sith. David Prowse played the role of Darth Vader in the original trilogy.

June 20-22 — Amy Allen & Matthew Wood

Amy Allen played the role of the striking Jedi Knight Aayla Secura in Episode II and III. Matthew Wood was Episode III’s Supervising Sound Editor as well as the voice of the evil General Grievous in that movie and the upcoming animated series, The Clone Wars.

June 27-29 — Dave Filoni

Dave Filoni is the Supervising Director of upcoming The Clone Wars animated feature and series.

Star Wars Weekends is at Disney’s Hollywood Studios. It usually features meet and greet opportunities, a parade, and Q&A sessions with the weekends guests. Hopefully the newly enclosed Backlot Theatre will be open by then. I’m noticing the guest list on the Disney hosted page is a little different than the list above. Stay tuned for changes, I guess.

Now that we’ve reached the quarter finals, each couple has two dances they haven’t done yet. Since they don’t necessarily each have a Ballroom and a Latin dance to do, that distinction isn’t made any more. But we do get 10 dances. Not bad in an hour and a half.

Jennie Garth & Derek Hough – Jive – Okay, what was up with that costume? I’d think they were going for an Adam and Eve thing, but then Derek should have been wearing a little less. Those two outfits really seemed to be at opposite ends of the spectrum. Anyway, the actual dance was great. High energy and fun with lots of intricate steps. And they both seemed to be really having fun. The technical stuff comes into play because I sure didn’t see any of what the judges were picking on.

Scores: Carrie Ann – 8 Len – 8 Bruno – 8 Total – 24 A little better then the comments suggested, but I found it better then that.

Cameron Mathison & Edyta Sliwinska – Viennese Waltz – So his goal is to get his first 10 of the competition. I must say the music to this dance was lots of fun. Almost ballet like. The dance was nice and showed more restrain then he often shows. It was beautiful. Not quite outstanding enough to get a 10 in my opinion, but the judges did seem to like it.

Scores: Carrie Ann – 9 Len – 9 Bruno – 9 Total – 27 About right. I thought there might be an 8 in there, but I’m not too surprised with the scores.

Marie Osmond & Jonathan Roberts – Rumba – I know a lot of viewers will be easy on her because of the hard week she’s had. And she certainly has my sympathy, but that was a poor dance. It might have passed muster in the first few weeks, but in the quarter finals, I expect more then that. In my opinion, this was the weakest dance of the night. And the judges seemed to agree with me. Even Len’s praise was faint. But watching him put himself in a hole talking about the dance being for a “young” couple was funny.

Scores: Carrie Ann – 8 Len – 8 Bruno – 8 Total – 24 Wow. That was a surprise. I really expected a lower score then that. Heck, it was the same score that Jennie got, and I thought she did a much better job then this.

Helio Castroneves & Julianne Hough – Paso Doble – Often, I feel the couple try to be too dramatic with this dance. I’m glad Helio didn’t go that route. Yes, it had some drama, but it still had Helio’s sense of fun. And the judges really liked it, too.

Scores: Carrie Ann – 9 Len – 9 Bruno – 9 Total – 27 So far the judges seem to all agree with each other, which means we’ve got two ties at this point. The guys and the ladies. Don’t know what it means, but I found it interesting.

Mel B. & Maksim Chmerkovskiy – Tango – When I think of the Tango, I think of “Hernando’s Hideaway,” which I always danced it to. I’m not sure I liked the rock, angry Tango. It was strong and powerful, but it just didn’t seem to be a good Tango. Decent dance, but not as good as she can do.

Scores: Carrie Ann – 9 Len – 9 Bruno – 9 Total – 27 So Mel joins the men at the top of the board after the first round. I guess I just don’t care for Mel’s style since I find myself disagreeing with the judges almost every week.

Now for round two.

Jennie Garth & Derek Hough – Foxtrot – I must admit I often get tired of the couple using the stairs, but I enjoyed their using them for the beginning of the dance. Every time I watch Jennie dance, I get a smile on my face. She really seems to be enjoying herself these days, and I enjoyed that dance. The judges praised her come back attitude again this week. Well, except for Bruno. I’m not sure what he is missing, but he seems to be taking over Len’s job of being the harsh judge most of the time.

Scores: Carrie Ann – 9 Len – 9 Bruno – 8 Total – 26 The scores didn’t surprise me after their comments. Completely disagree with Bruno, however.

Cameron Mathison & Edyta Silwinska – Cha Cha – If Jennie’s second dance was better, Cameron’s was worse. It seemed to be missing the essence of the Cha Cha for me. Or maybe it was wooden as Len said. Either way, it wasn’t quite as good as he can be.

Scores: Carrie Ann – 8 Len – 8 Bruno – 8 Total – 24 That seems to be the lowest score that the judges are giving out tonight. And Cameron missed his first 10 of the competition.

Marie Osmond & Jonathan Roberts- Jive – Okay, you’d think after all the fuss about lifts this season, they’d know to leave them out. Yet that was clearly a lift, or at least a controlled fall. Not the first I’ve seen tonight either. Yet none of them are being called on it. I don’t get it. Anyway, this particular dance was fun, but it seemed slow and not really like the Jive to me. I agree with Bruno and Carrie Ann that it wasn’t quite right. Len actually surprised me. And the country theme was something different. Not quite sure if that worked for them or against them.

Scores: Carrie Ann – 8 Len – 9 Bruno – 8 Total – 25 Considering the comments, that seems a little high. I did expect Len to be higher then the other two, but I was expecting 7’s from Carrie Ann and Bruno.

Helio Castroneves & Julianne Hough – Quickstep – What Marie lacked in energy, this dance certainly made up for. It was fast right out of the gate. Slowed down a little in the middle, but only for a second or two. I can’t quite tell what that was at the end. Julianne seemed a little surprised at the kiss, and she was laughing when he pulled him back up. And the judges absolutely loved it.

Scores: Carrie Ann – 10 Len – 10 Bruno – 10 Total – 30 After the comments, I would have been surprised if they hadn’t gotten a perfect score for that dance. Well deserved.

Mel B. & Maksim Chmerkovskiy – Mambo – Wow they saved the best two of last. This was just as strong as Helio’s Quickstep in my opinion. Lots of fun and energy. And I agree the choreography absolutely made the routine. The judges liked it, too, which is the important part, at least for tonight. I’m not sure it was the hottest dance I’ve seen this season, but that’s about my only disagreement with the judges.

Scores: Carrie Ann – 9 Len – 10 Bruno – 10 Total – 29 That’s certainly nothing to be ashamed of, but I really did expect another perfect score from the judges.

So, this week the judges’ leader board looks like this.

1. Helio – 57

2. Mel B. – 56

3. Cameron – 51

4. Jennie – 50

5. Marie – 49

And I do believe we have a first. This is the first week with absolutely no ties after the judges give their scores.

Predictions:

I don’t think it’s too much of a stretch to predict that Helio’s Quickstep will be the encore of the night. It was the only perfect 30, so I would be surprised if they went with anything else.

The bottom two:

I think it’s easier to guess who won’t be in the bottom two. Helio and Mel B. look pretty safe to me. Only two points separate the other three, so it will be very close. I think it should be Marie and Cameron because they are generally the weakest dancers of the season. And Marie should be the one to go.

However, I think Marie will get the sympathy vote this week and won’t land in the bottom two. Which means that the bottom two will be Jennie and Cameron. I’m worried that Cameron has more fans then Jennie. Cameron still hasn’t gotten a 10 from anyone so I think he deserves it if Marie doesn’t go. I hope Jennie is safe, but I think she will be the one eliminated.

Dancing with the Stars – The Latin Round

Okay, maybe it’s my faulty memory, but I don’t remember them doing a Latin night before. I thought they always had a Latin and a Ballroom dance each week. Now it’s fine if they are doing something different. But the way they are talking, they make it sound like this is something they do every year. Whatever. Let’s get to the hot Latin action.

Marie Osmond & Jonathan Roberts – Samba – When I heard that Marie was doing this show, I thought that the Latin dances would be her problem. She proved me wrong again tonight. That was hot and fun. It did seem potentially too safe at times. And just as Len was starting to praise it (or so it seemed), she fainted. But it looks like she is fine after all and handling it was good humor.

Scores: Carrie Ann – 7 Len – 7 Bruno – 7 Total – 21 I would have liked to hear what the judges thought of it. Maybe it was that it was too safe. I was expecting higher scores.

Jane Seymour & Tony Dovolani – Rumba – You know, I always think of Latin dances as being fast. Yet this is dance two and the second slow one. Frankly, I found this one a tad boring. It was hot in spots, but the dance was made up of lots of holds and arm movement. This was not a holding contest but a dancing contest. I agree with the judges that it was classy, but they seemed to think that was a good thing. I was left wanting something more.

Scores: Carrie Ann – 8 Len – 9 Bruno – 9 Total – 26 I completely disagree with that. I would switch Jane and Marie’s scores if it were up to me.

Mark Cuban & Kym Johnson – Samba – Say what you will about Mark, he continues to entertain. That was a very entertaining routine. And I loved their choice of music, the theme to “I Dream of Jennie.” But technique was lacking and his lack of natural dancing ability still hurt it.

Scores: Carrie Ann – 7 Len – 7 Bruno – 7 Total – 21 Only one point down from last week. And tied with Marie. This could spell doom for Marie. This dance was more fun, but Marie’s was overall better in my opinion.

Sabrina Bryan & Mark Ballas – Rumba – Okay, so obviously the Rumba is supposed to be a slower dance. But the difference between this dance and Jane’s is night and day for me. Hot and sexy with some wonderful dancing. And very convincing. I sure don’t know what Len’s problem was. There’s a reason Sabrina has been at or near the top of the leader board every week.

Scores: Carrie Ann – 9 Len – 9 Bruno – 10 Total – 28 You know, it is so hard to read the judges sometimes. Len gave that a 9 after those comments? Still, it’s a score that matches the dance for a change. In fact, this is the first one where I agree with the judges.

Jennie Garth & Derek Hough – Samba – Now there’s the higher energy I was looking for. And, despite the pre dance interviews, it wasn’t all about the shake. Jennie pulled those off, too, but there was lots of great dancing in there. An absolute great routine in my opinion. And this time I find myself agreeing with Len. You just never can tell from one dance to the next who you will agree and disagree with.

Scores: Carrie Ann – 8 Len – 9 Bruno – 8 Total – 25 I thought it was a little better than that. The scores are definintely all over the board tonight.

Helio Castroneves & Julianne Hough – Rumba – Now if someone tells me to look sexy, I wind up looking like I am in pain. I think Helio suffers from the same curse. I couldn’t take my eyes off his face most of the time since it was so amusing to watch the pained looks on his face. And Bruno agrees with me. I can tell Julianne didn’t care for the comments, but it was how it struck me.

Scores: Carrie Ann – 8 Len – 7 Bruno – 8 Total – 23 That’s a nice score considering how he looked. That wasn’t the best they’ve done.

Mel B. & Maksim Chmerkovskiy – Samba – Every season there seems to be one couple who fights their way through each week. And it never hurts them on the floor. That’s true of this seasons fighting couple, too. While I didn’t care for it, I do agree with the judges that it was a great Samba with lots of energy. I would never know they were sick based on that performance.

Scores: Carrie Ann – 10 Len – 9 Bruno – 10 Total – 29 And the judges showed that they did indeed believe this was the best Samba of the night by giving it the best score of the night.

Cameron Mathison & Edyta Sliwinska – Rumba – Cameron said he wanted a sizzling hot Rumba that would make the judges need a cold shower. I don’t know about them, but I need one. Of course, those spins are very close to the lifts that got everyone in trouble last week. In fact, Carrie Ann said one of them one. Still, for my money that was the best dance of the night.

Scores: Carrie Ann – 8 Len – 9 Bruno – 9 Total – 26 Looks like Carrie Ann did indeed knock them down for the lift. I hope Cameron can keep this up because he is becoming a great dancer.

The scores are a bit more spread out this week. Here’s the judges leader board.

1. Mel B.

2. Sabrina

3. Jane (tie)

3. Cameron (tie)

5. Jennie

6. Helio

7. Marie (tie)

7. Mark (tie)

So, my predictions.

Since Mel B. hasn’t done an encore yet, I’m going to guess that she does the encore this week. She had the high score, so it’s a logical choice.

The bottom two is much harder this week. Even though he’s tied for the bottom, I’m going to leave Mark off the list. He’s going to need a much lower score then that to get eliminated. He should be the one going, not the two stars who had bad nights.

So the bottom two are going to be Marie and Helio. And I bet Marie’s fans are rabid enough to save her, so Helio will be the one to go. Which is a shame because I think he’s the best male dancer on the show.

Call me dangerman. I live on the edge. Yep, when everyone else has written off ABC’s new sitcom “Cavemen”, I am bravely writing a review of the second episode. Of course, there are somethings you should know from the start. I haven’t seen a sitcom I’ve really liked since “Fraiser” went off the air. Not that there hasn’t been funny material out there, just that the half hour format has seemed pretty much explored to me.

Cavemen, despite the unique situation of the subject, does not attempt to explore those boundaries anymore either. However, I found episode two a much more servicable sitcom than the first attempt. What made this episode for me, however, was not the main storyline (a boring look at elistism when faced with corporatism in an IKEA like setting), but rather the sub-characters.

I really liked the fourth Cavemen’s outlook on life even just from his quick appearance in the kitchen. His attitude is more what I expected from the show in general, very similar to what we’ve come to expect from the commercials. The other storyline with Andy, the third caveman’s, attempt to get the girl down the hall to not be scared of him results in some funny moments.

But a few funny moments and a little promise does not a hit show make. 24 million tuned in to watch last weeks debut. I’m putting the over under on 12 million for this week.

Btw, “Carpoolers”, which follows Cavemen, is a much better sitcom. I have three words to describe it, “The Truth Hurts.” But it’s also funny. I wonder why I’m not reviewing that show.