Tag Archives: Disney

Survey Takers at Star Wars Weekends

Posted on by

For four weeks in May and June, the denizens of the galaxy far, far away invade Disney’s Hollywood Studios for Star Wars Weekends. Special events include autograph sessions with celebrity guests, photo ops with Star Wars characters, shows in the Premiere Theatre, the Jedi Training Academy, and the Hyperspace Hoopla. One of the highlights is the Legends of the Force motorcade, aka the parade, featuring Star Wars/Disney characters, members from the 501st and Rebel Legions, and celebrity guests.

Yesterday while waiting for the parade, a cast member approached me, asking if I’d mind answering a few questions about Star Wars and Disney. I don’t think this lady realized how big of a jackpot she’d hit with me, or maybe my Her Universe Rogue Squadron hoodie gave it away. I said, “OF COURSE I WOULD.”

Questions included:

1. Was I aware that it was currently Star Wars Weekends? Considering I was waiting for the parade and wearing a Star Wars shirt, the answer was obvious. Yes.

2. Did I attend Hollywood Studios specifically for Star Wars Weekends? Uh, duh, why else would I be there ? (Here’s a helpful hint: if you don’t want to attend Star Wars Weekends, don’t bother going to Hollywood Studios those days, because it’s mobbed and you will have a terrible time.)

3. On a scale of 1 to 10, 1 being lowest and 10 being highest, rate your knowledge of the Star Wars universe, including films, TV shows, books, and video games. I said 10.

4. On a scale of 1 to 10, how big a Star Wars fan would you rate yourself? Again, I said 10.

5. A short (very easy) quiz to gauge my knowledge of Star Wars. I got 4 out of 4.

6. If I could visit any place in the Star Wars universe, where would I go? After thinking for a bit, I answered Corellia. Why? “Because it’s Han Solo’s home planet and it’s awesome.” The survey taker seemed satisfied with my answer.

After the survey, she said that nothing is in the works yet, but Disney will be putting together other research events in the future, and would I be interested? Heck yes! I gave her my name and e-mail address and am ready to tell them “I want more Star Wars at Disney!” Hell, I told her exactly that before she walked off.

I’ve been to Star Wars Weekends nearly every weekend during the past three years, and I don’t ever remember it being as busy as it’s been this year. Star Tours, which normally has 10 or 20 minute lines, had a 90 minute line at one point today. It seems that Disney is paying attention, and wants to please Star Wars fans when it comes to the inevitable expansion in Hollywood Studios. As a shameless theme park enthusiast and Star Wars fan, I can’t wait.

 

Cosplay Monday: Star Wars Disney Princesses

Posted on by

Welcome back to another Cosplay Monday where we strive to brighten the start of your work week with some fantastic costumes.  You know that we love a good crossover and a mash up especially when they involve Star Wars and Disney.  Check out these fun costumes by Aleu Moana and Jennifer as Poca-han-solo and Rapunzel Skywalker!  I can’t say enough good things about them because they just look fantastic.  You can definitely see the inspirations from both characters and together, they make up a beautiful mash up.  Well done ladies!

starwarsdisney

Iger hints at Star Wars in theme parks and on TV

Posted on by

Yesterday, Universal announced that their incredibly popular Wizarding World of Harry Potter would be extending into both Islands of Adventure and Universal Studios with the launch of Diagon Alley in 2014. Does Disney have a response for their own parks? Bob Iger had a few things to say at an earnings meeting yesterday.

“In addition to the Star Wars feature films that we’ve already talked about, we’re also working on opportunities for television and  our parks.  It’s still very early in the process. We’ll announce details as these developments evolve.”

So, they’re looking into things but nothing is definitive yet. Come on Disney, give me Star Wars Land. Preferably in Florida.

Variety: Kathleen Kennedy in the running to take over Disney?

Posted on by

kennedylucasOver at Variety yesterday, senior writer Marc Graser took a look at Disney CEO Bob Iger’s handling of the massive layoffs that have hit the company over the last few weeks. Among the details was one particular throwaway line of note:

Many expect theme park and resorts chief Thomas Staggs to land the CEO role, although there are rumblings that Lucasfilm’s Kathleen Kennedy also may now be in the running.

Bob Iger is set to retire in about two years at what could be the peak of Disney in the 21st century. The studio is set to unveil a new Pirates of the Caribbean film, the Finding Nemo sequel, as well as two Marvel films in Ant Man and one of 2015’s most anticipated blockbusters The Avengers 2. Whoever steps in may be inheriting an extremely high bar to clear, and perhaps that’s the reason Variety is speculating that Kennedy is in the running.

Kathleen Kennedy is a highly by the film community and George Lucas in particular. That’s something that recently jaded and cynical Star Wars fans can take heart in. If Kennedy takes over at Disney, it means that Lucasfilm’s parent company would be overseen by someone the Maker sought out.

(Via Jedi News)

New Star Wars Films to Be Released Every Summer Starting in 2015

Posted on by

star-wars-episode-vii-logo

You get a Star Wars film! And you get a Star Wars film! And you…well, you get the point.

Today at CinemaCon in Las Vegas, Disney and Lucasfilm announced that a new Star Wars film will be released each summer starting in 2015.

Episode VII will come first, followed by a standalone film in 2016. This alternating “episode-standalone” schedule will continue until, presumably, Episode IX is released (it felt really really really weird to type Episode IX as an actual thing that will happen, by the way). Bob Iger confirmed upcoming standalone films back in February, but this is the first we’ve heard of this aggressive release schedule. No note of how many standalone films will be produced, or if they will continue after the Sequel Trilogy ends.

We’re recording a new episode of Tosche Station tonight, so be sure to look out for a new episode with all of our thinky thoughts.

(via IGN and /film)

More layoffs at Lucasfilm targeting licensing and marketing

Posted on by

By all indications, there’s been another round of layoffs at Lucasfilm. This time it also affects the Lucasfilm Licensing division.

These layoffs are reportedly impacting individuals within licensing, marketing, and publishing. The first two make a certain amount of sense since Disney has huge licensing and marketing arms, but publishing would be a bit more out of left field as they do not have much in the way of in-house options on that front. Possibly the layoffs within that arm are confined to children and reference materials, which Disney can probably replicate. Adult fiction would be tougher.

Via Club Jade

UPDATE: Publishing not impacted

Sounds like the initial report was wrong on the publishing front. LFL’s Jen Heddle got in contact with Club Jade to clear things up:

This makes quite a bit more sense. If Disney can do anything internally, it’s licensing products and marketing everything under their umbrella. Publishing is still something that they in theory have the framework to do entirely internally, but isn’t what I would call a strong suit. For now (and I suspect for a long, long while), the setup remains the same for Star Wars literature.

Tosche Station Radio #53: It’s A Unix System!

Posted on by

ToscheStationbig

Play in new window | Download
This week on Tosche Station Radio, the hosts look back fondly at of their favorite films, Jurassic Park!

Kicking off the show, the hosts highlight what’s New on the Blog. Bria and the Waru Express started the New Jedi Order and explained that Cosplay Is Not Consent. Meanwhile, Emily finally came up with a recipe for ryshcate! Bria then decided to be an overachiever (and we thank her profusely for it) and wrote up a new comics primer called “So You Want to Read Marvel Now.”

In Fixer’s Flash, Nanci’s kept herself busy by writing a few short stories. She also finished up Timothy Zahn’s Night Train To Rigel and started reading Overdraft: The Orion Offensive by John Jackson Miller. Brian has been reading through Season of Passage while not going to baseball games. Both of the hosts took the weekend to go see Jurassic Park. More on that later!

Deak’s Dirt starts out with news on the Star Wars animation front. Dave Filoni revealed he’s involved in the new animated series. In Expanded Universe linkage, EUCantina did an interview with The Last Jedi author Maya Kaathryn Bonhoff. Her Universe posted a sneak preview of the new Rogue Squadron tank. Outside of Star Wars, Christopher Eccleston will not be involved in 50th anniversary of Doctor Who. Comixology and Marvel team up to offer first issues for free. From Club Jade, the Legend of Korra is coming to BluRay in July! On the Star Wars rumor front, no one has spoken to Billy Dee Williams yet. In continuing entertainment industry woes, Walt Disney Studios was hit by layoffs. Finally, Yoda won This is Madness.

This week on Camie’s Concerns, the hosts look back at one of their favorite blockbuster films: Jurassic Park. How did the 3D re-release fare? Is it the perfect blockbuster? What lessons could future blockbusters learn from it?

Wrapping up the show, the hosts field questions in Ask Us Anything.

Tosche Station Radio is the official podcast of Tosche-Station.net and a part of Majestic Giraffe Productions. If you like what you hear, please leave a review on the iTunes Music Store. We can also be found on Facebook and Twitter.

Nanci and Brian are the co-founders and writers of Tosche-Station.net. You can find Nanci on Twitter with the handle @Nancipants and you can find Brian with @LaneWinree.

This podcast has been brought to you in part by Her Universe and Audible.com.

Her Universe - Flaunt Your World - www.heruniverseshop.com Listen to a bestseller for $7.49 at audible.com!

More Entertainment Industry Layoffs: Disney Eliminates Studio Jobs

Posted on by

Not even the Mouse House is immune, unfortunately. According to Variety, Disney has begun the process of laying off at least 150 workers at Walt Disney Studios. Some of the affected employees are part of the animation division, marking yet another company that has been forced to downsize their entertainment arms.

At this point, it appears to be an industry-wide thing. The powerhouse Tippett Studios underwent layoffs a few weeks ago. Last week noted game developer and publisher Square Enix announced that they were eliminating a number of jobs from their Los Angeles studio as part of a corporate re-organization. This is just a sample of the hard times the entertainment industry has found themselves in lately.

While it’s easy for many fans to get angry with Disney for they layoffs at both Lucasfilm Animation and LucasArts, we have to understand that there simply wasn’t any malice involved with those decisions. The entertainment industry is in a state of upheaval right now and that’s forcing these studios to make some uncomfortable choices that lead to re-orgs and layoffs. Given the state of the industry right now, some of this restructuring could have happened even if George Lucas still owned the company.

Dave Filoni Involved With New Star Wars Cartoon

Posted on by

FiloniIGN has a recap from Dave Filoni’s sit down with Rebel Forces Radio yesterday. Among the highlights? He’s apparently involved in the early processes of a new Star Wars cartoon.

“At this point, I am involved in some early production discussions and exploration of what we’ll be doing with Star Wars animation in the future, which is really exciting for me and I have some friendly faces around me, of course, that are helping me on the project. So it’s a transition time, as I’ve said before, and I think it will lead to an exciting time and hopefully I’ll see things grow again.”

What is this new cartoon? New idea yet, but I kind of figured this would happen. Lucasfilm Animation was somewhat of a redundant department after the Disney acquisition, because if Disney has anything, it’s a world-class animation shop. That said, even if Lucasfilm Animation were to shut down or downsize, Disney is smart enough to pick off that talent and retain them for future projects. Don’t be surprised if not only Dave Filoni but the bulk of his creative crew find their way to this new project.

It’s also worth noting that Lucasfilm isn’t the only company experiencing downsizing in their visual effects and animation departments. Over in the comments at Club Jade, Pablo Hidalgo pointed out that Tippett Studios and numerous other VFX shops were experiencing layoffs. The downsizing at Lucasfilm Animation might have less to do with Disney and more to do with a changing entertainment landscape.

Just Keep Swimming: Pixar Announces Release Date for “Finding Dory”

Posted on by

dory Just when we thought Disney couldn’t get any more awesome: Disney and Pixar announce that Dory, Nemo, and Marlin will be swimming back into theatres in 2015 in Finding Dory.

Lest you think that this is an April Fool’s joke that didn’t catch on until today, fear not. Deadline.com reported that Pixar had started work on a Finding Nemo sequel back in July 2012.

As for what’s going to happen, MTV.com has offered a quote from returning director Andrew Stanton on what Finding Dory will entail:

One thing we couldn’t stop thinking about was why she was all alone in the ocean on the day she met Marlin. In ‘Finding Dory,’ she will be reunited with her loved ones, learning a few things about the meaning of family along the way.

Finding Dory is expected in theatres 25 November 2015.