Next summer, no toy gets left behind! Its good to see this gang back on the big screen, check out the first full length trailer:
You know you have an identifiable film-making style when even a stop-motion animation movie has the look and feel of a Wes Anderson movie! This looks “fantastic”:
Well, I suppose this was semi-predictable. Based on the recent success of other toy/cartoon franchises it only makes sense that Hollywood would target the female side of this audience. Universal confirms that it has made a deal with Mattel to craete a feature film around the Barbie character. Read more from Variety.com:
Universal Pictures has added Barbie to its star stable.
The studio has made a deal with Mattel to build a live action film around its signature toy line. Studios are placing a premium on building films around well-known concepts. Universal brass feels it has landed the queen of globally branded toy figures.
Laurence Mark will produce.
According to Mattel, the 50-year old Barbie has 99% worldwide brand awareness, is the number one girls property in the toy industry, the top doll property in the U.S. and the number one worldwide property in the traditional toy industry.
“Barbie is the most famous doll in history, a unique cultural icon in the world of brands,” said Universal Pictures chairman Marc Shmuger. “So many representations of Barbie frequent pop culture, but never before has she been brought to life in a motion picture. We’re grateful to Mattel for entrusting us with this extraordinary opportunity.”
Mark said the next step will be to canvas writers and decide a creative take for a family-friendly movie. Mark, who just produced “Julie & Julia” and is currently in production on the untitled James L. Brooks-directed comedy that stars Reese Witherspoon and Jack Nicholson, was one of several A-list producers who met with Mattel and U execs. Mark said he felt fortunate to get the job and said there is no shortage of plot possibilities, since Barbie has held more than 120 jobs over the years.
“Barbie may be the most popular girl in the world, and has always been a wonderfully aspirational figure, so we must do her proud,” Mark said.
The executive producers are Barbie general manager and Mattel senior veep Richard Dickson, and Rob Hudnut, who is vice president of Entertainment for Barbie. The brand managers will clearly be hands on in determining how Mattel’s star asset translates to the screen.
Asked why there had never before been a live action feature (there have been 16 direct-to-video animated titles, selling 75 million units worldwide, per Mattel), Dickson called the U deal the logical next step in expanding the brand’s reach. In the past several years, Barbie has expanded into areas like fashion shows, merchandise, and online ventures that include Twitter, Facebook, even Barbie’s own YouTube channel.
“The brand wasn’t ready for a movie,” Dickson said. “In the last 10 years, Barbie has evolved from a toy into an intellectual property. We’ve already had enormous success in the entertainment industry. Barbie has a proven track record in home entertainment, there have been live stage shows, live symphonies and other non-traditional forms of entertainment. There is a flagship store in Shanghai. There are a lot of ways we are already communicating with Barbie’s audience, and there is a richness to the brand as an entertainment property.”
While Universal and Mark will want to move ahead aggressively, Dickson said no timetable has been set for Barbie’s big screen debut.
“The utmost concern is to make sure every detail is right,” Dickson said. “Rather than a timetable, I’m more interested in making sure we deliver the right product.”
The Barbie deal was made by CAA, which previously placed at Universal and Playtone Mattel’s “Major Matt Mason,” a potential star vehicle for Tom Hanks. The most recent deal is an as-yet-to-be-launched Mattel monster toy line that will be turned into a musical by that reunites “Hairspray” producers Craig Zadan and Neil Meron with Marc Shaiman and Scott Wittman, who’ll write the original score.
Wes Anderson does stop-motion animation? Clooney, Murray and Streep voice characters? Ya, that could work… Check out the trailer:
In time for the next big, gigantic Transformers movie to hit screens, sister-site WatchMojo.com has taken at look at the backstory and origins of the Transformers franchise. And it all comes back to the toys… Check out the new series on the Transformers Franchise:
Transformers - The Franchise
Transformers - The Transformer ‘Universe’
First Family Guy, now Futurama! Read more from the LA Times:
Death isn’t what it used to be for animated TV shows.
Comedy Central has struck a deal with Twentieth Century Fox Television to air 26 new episodes of “Futurama,” the animated comedy from “Simpsons” creator Matt Groening that was canceled by the Fox network in 2003 after a four-season run. The first new half-hour episode of the comedy about a 20th century pizza delivery boy who wakes up in the 30th century will air in mid-2010.
Its rebirth mirrors that of fellow Twentieth animated series “Family Guy,” which was canceled by Fox in 2002 and then revived by the network in 2005 after proving a major hit on DVD and in cable.
“Futurama” has enjoyed similar success, initially on reruns on Carton Network’s Adult Swim from 2003 until the end of 2007, then on Comedy Central starting last year.
In addition, Twentieth Century Fox produced four straight-to-DVD “Futurama” movies last year, all of which aired on the cable network.
Comedy Central may not be the only home for the second life of “Futurama.” Twentieth’s deal with the cable network gives it the rights to sell the newly produced episodes to a broadcast network as well — given the series’ history and the networks’ corporate ties to the studio, Fox would be the most likely candidate.
Revivals of canceled series are extremely rare and, as evidenced by the fate of “Jericho” on CBS last year, usually don’t result in better ratings. But for animated comedies with a devoted core of young male viewers who devour reruns on cable and online, death is turning out to be a temporary state of affairs.
Because they don’t take much time from the actors who do voice-over work, it’s also much easier to bring back cast members who might have moved on to other projects.
Tim Burton? Post-Apocolyptic? Weird animation? Count me in.
A new era in animated storytelling begins on 9.9.09. Visionary filmmakers Tim Burton (The Corpse Bride, Charlie and The Chocolate Factory) and Timur Bekmambetov (Wanted, Nightwatch) join forces to produce wunderkind director Shane Acker’s distinctively original and thrilling tale. 9 stars Elijah Wood, John C. Reilly, Jennifer Connelly, Martin Landau, Christopher Plummer and Crispin Glover and features the music of Danny Elfman.
When 9 (The Lord of the Ring’s Elijah Wood) first comes to life, he finds himself in a post-apocalyptic world. All humans are gone, and it is only by chance that he discovers a small community of others like him taking refuge from fearsome machines that roam the earth intent on their extinction. Despite being the neophyte of the group, 9 convinces the others that hiding will do them no good. They must take the offensive if they are to survive, and they must discover why the machines want to destroy them in the first place. As they’ll soon come to learn, the very future of civilization may depend on them.
Director: Shane Acker
Cast: Elijah Wood, Jennifer Connelly, Martin Landau, Christopher Plummer, John C. Reilly, Crispin Glover
Find out more here: http://www.facebook.com/9theMovie
This doesn’t really make any sense at all… A Reboot(ugh) might make more sense than a sequel to a movie that must look extremely dated compared to todays effects… In any case, read more from Slashfilm.com:
The sequel madness in Hollywood is starting to get out of control. Earlier this week it was revealed that Robert Rodriguez would be producing a Predator remake titled Predators, Ridley Scott was considering making a prequel to Alien, and that Mirage Studios are developing a live-action Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles reboot. Russell Brand is remaking Drop Dead Fred. Yesterday Oliver Stone announced Wall Street 2. Last night we told you about how Joe Dante wouldn’t be directing a Gremlins 3 and how Amy Heckerling may, or may not, be making a sequel to Clueless. And now there is talk of a Who Framed Roger Rabbit sequel!
Filmmaker Robert Zemeckis told MTV that all the new “digital tools
and performance capture” has him “starting to think about” doing another Roger Rabbit. Of course, Zemeckis didn’t give any more details, just saying that “new idea” has been “buzzing around in my head.”The original 1988 film was nominated for seven Academy Awards, four of which they won. I’m not sure how the new technology would elevate the effect of transplanting 2D animated characters into the real world, but I’m sure it has something to do with performance capture.
Many people don’t know that the first film almost spawned a direct-to-video prequel. Written by Nat Mauldin, Roger Rabbit: The Toon Platoon told the story of a young Roger Rabbit, who meets a struggling Hollywood actress named Jessica while traveling west to find his mother. But when Jessica is kidnapped and forced to make pro-Nazi Germany broadcasts, Roger and his human friend Ritchie Davenport go to Nazi-occupied Europe to save her. The film ended with a huge Hollywood parade where Roger us reunited with his mother, and his father… big reveal… Bugs Bunny. Ugh!
Disney later tried to rework the story without Steven Spielberg. Who Discovered Roger Rabbit told the story of Roger’s “inadvertent rise to stardom on Broadway and Hollywood.” Eight time Academy Award composer Alan Menken was even hired on to write five songs for the production, with Looney Toons: Back in Action helmer Eric Goldberg attached to direct the animation. A test sequence was filmed in 1998 which combined traditional animation, computer animation and live action. Disney wasn’t happy with the results, so they also did a test with all the cartoon characters completely converted to CG. The budget quickly skyrocketed past $100 million, forcing Michael Eisner t pull the plug. It’s probably better for everyone involved that neither films earned a greenlight.
Here’s the trailer for the original movie, Who Framed Roger Rabbit?:
Manny, Sid, Diego, Ellie, and Scrat encounter a dinosaur population which survived extinction in its tropical paradise, which existed below the thick layers… until now. Meanwhile, Crash and Eddie are up to their usual crazy selves. Manny and Ellie have since become an item are going to have their first baby, and Manny wants everything to be perfect when his baby arrives. Diego is tired of being treated like a “House-cat” and ponders the notion that he’s being too laid back. Sid starts to wish for a family of his own, and so steals some dinosaur eggs which leads his herd to go and to try to rescue him while dodging dinosaurs and facing danger left and right; they also meet up with a new friend who’s a one-eyed weasel known as Buck, who hunts Dinosaurs intently. Scrat also meets a squirrel named Scratte and could find a possible romance with her.
Check out the trailer:
This looks very bizarre… but oddly charming. With voices from Bill Hader, Anna Faris, James Caan and more, its got some talent behind it.
PLAY
