Annette Funicello

Very sad news today...

Annette Funicello, one of the best-known members of the original 1950s "Mickey Mouse Club" and a star of numerous 1960s "beach party" films, died Monday at a California hospital, the Walt Disney Co. said. Funicello, who was 70, "died peacefully from complications due to multiple sclerosis, a disease she battled for over 25 years."



She remained with Disney after leaving the "Mickey Mouse Club," appearing in TV shows including "Zorro" (1957), "The Nine Lives of Elfego Baca" (1958) and starring in the Disney feature films "The Shaggy Dog" (1959), "Babes in Toyland" (1961), "The Misadventures of Merlin Jones" (1964) and "The Monkey's Uncle" (1965). 



 The most enduring images of Funicello, though, may be of her in a bikini, her primary wardrobe when she co-starred with teen idol Frankie Avalon in beach party movies in the early 1960s. These included "Beach Party" (1963), "Muscle Beach Party" (1964), "Bikini Beach" (1964), "Beach Blanket Bingo" (1965), and "How to Stuff a Wild Bikini" (1965).

It must have been an amazing experience to be as famous as she was back then.

She will be missed.

Elliott

The first full trailer for the Disney remake of Pete's Dragon was released today...



I never saw the original, but this one looks like the typical heartstrings-pulling, family-style, warm-fuzzies movie that Disney is known for.

And...that's okay by me.

The movie opens on August 12th.

Maleficent

Here is the first photo released from Disney's upcoming feature Maleficent, starring Angelina Jolie.

Production is now underway on the update to the 1959 animated classic Sleeping Beauty.


Disney has released the first image of the actress as the villainess in this live-action twist, which focuses not on the good princess Aurora, but on the backstory that led Maleficent to turn against the fairy-tale kingdom.



She certainly looks the part.

Exciting.

Trek Wars

It looks like J. J. Abrams is going to take over another beloved Sci-Fi franchise...Star Wars.

J.J. Abrams will direct the next "Star Wars" film for Disney, taking stewardship of one of Hollywood's most iconic and lucrative film franchises. 

Lucasfilm Chief Kathleen Kennedy has been courting Abrams, one of the most successful directors and producers in Hollywood -- and a man beloved by fanboys. He runs one of the industry's top production companies, Bad Robot, and created or co-created television franchises like "Lost," "Fringe" and "Alias." He has also directed film spectacles "Mission: Impossible III," "Star Trek" and "Super 8." 

Though he has several producing jobs in front of him, Abrams had been uncommitted as a director. He will have to jump right into "Star Wars," which Disney has slated for a 2015 release.

Honestly, I think he'll do as good a job as anyone else. I loved what he did with the updated Star Trek and he wasn't even a big fan of that show.

He loves Star Wars.

I'm in.

Space Mouse

This is pretty big news for Star Wars fans....

Disney has just confirmed that it has agreed to acquire George Lucas‘ Lucasfilm Ltd, and that includes rights to the Star Wars franchise that will now continue on. The companies have targeted a 2015 release for Star Wars: Episode 7, with Episode 8 and Episode 9 to follow, as the the long-term plan is to release a new feature every two or three years.

The stock and cash transaction is worth an estimated $4.05 billion.



That should be another big cash cow franchise for Disney (like Marvel) and, if there is any justice in the world, the three new Star Wars films will actually have a good story and characters (I didn't care for the last three "new" movies, i.e: big video game for kids).

Also, I need to make friends with George Lucas very soon.

That $4 billion paycheck is not going to spend itself.

Spin Cycle

It looks like Spider-Man will now be joining the rest of the Marvel movie universe very soon...meaning, he's gonna be hanging with Thor, Iron Man and the whole Hee Haw gang...

Sony Pictures Entertainment and Marvel Studios announced today that Sony is bringing Marvel into the amazing world of Spider-Man.

Under the deal, the new Spider-Man will first appear in a Marvel film from Marvel's Cinematic Universe (MCU). Sony Pictures will thereafter release the next installment of its $4 billion Spider-Man franchise, on July 28, 2017, in a film that will be co-produced by Kevin Feige and his expert team at Marvel and Amy Pascal, who oversaw the franchise launch for the studio 13 years ago. Together, they will collaborate on a new creative direction for the web slinger. Sony Pictures will continue to finance, distribute, own and have final creative control of the Spider-Man films. 

Bob Iger, Chairman and CEO, The Walt Disney Company said: "Spider-Man is one of Marvel's great characters, beloved around the world. We're thrilled to work with Sony Pictures to bring the iconic web-slinger into the Marvel Cinematic Universe, which opens up fantastic new opportunities for storytelling and franchise building."

I would not be surprised if he makes his first appearance in the upcoming Avengers: Age of Ultron.

Enjoyable.

Avatar: Flight of Passage

Disney World's new Pandora: The World of Avatar section of the park will be opening in a couple of weeks. However, a few people have been given access early and we now have our first full video of what the "Flight of Passage" experience will be (where guests fly across Pandora on a Banshee)...



The visuals look pretty amazing and will likely make guests squeal with delight (as they did in this video) while also making them feel like throwing up for many years to come.

The ride opens on May 27th.

Mental Floss

It looks like Dwayne Johnson has a new movie coming out next year for Disney (of course) where he gets wrangled into taking over for the Tooth Fairy for a week.

I hope they let the public know what week that will be...

I'll need time to get a pair of plyers and some fresh bed linens ready.

Hopefully it'll be at least as entertaining as this Stuart "MadTV" sketch with Susan Sarandon as the infamous dental damsel.



Stuart slays me.

Blowin' it UP!

This is what Disney's Up would have been like, had Michael Bay (Transformers) directed it.



More explosions….MORE EXPLOSIONS!

Enjoyable.

Shelley Morrison

Very sad news over the weekend...

Veteran actress and Will & Grace breakout star and fan-favorite Shelley Morrison died Sunday at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles. She was 83.

In addition to Will & Grace, Morrison’s resume includes a lengthy list of TV series and films. From 1967 to 1970 She played Sister Sixto alongside Sally Field in the iconic series The Flying Nun.



She also had guest-starring roles in other TV staples from the ’60s on, including The Fugitive, L.A. Law and Murder, She Wrote. She also provided the voice of Mrs. Portillo in Handy Manny, an animated series from Disney. She also appeared alongside many legendary actors in many films including How to Save a Marriage and Ruin Your Life (1968) alongside Dean Martin, Funny Girl (1968) with Barbra Streisand, Mackenna’s Gold (1969) with Gregory Peck as well as Fools Rush In (1997) with Salma Hayek.



The actress’s career spans 50 years but is best known as the sharp-tongued maid Rosario Salazar from NBC’s Will & Grace who would go head to head with Megan Mullally’s Karen Walker, trading verbal jabs and insults. She played the character for eight seasons from 1999 to 2006 and won a Screen Actors Guild award for best ensemble in a comedy series.

I used to love her on The Flying Nun and especially on Will and Grace. Her arguments with Karen were one of my favorite parts of the show. Like this one for example...



I thought the show did a great job of paying tribute to her and the character this past year. They must have known that she was ill.



She will be missed but fondly remembered.

Marvel Movies: Phase Three

Not to be outdone by DC announcing their recent slate of upcoming movies, Marvel Studios went ahead and announced their next phase of movies today at the El Capitan Theater in Hollywood.



Of note is that the 3rd Avengers movie will be split into two parts (Hello, wads-o-cash!), there will be a Captain Marvel movie (the female version, which I was unaware was even a thing), and a Black Panther movie (never heard of him, but Marvel fans seemed to be psyched).

So, there's that.

Still, kind of awesome.

Here's more info…

At a live event at Disney’s El Capitan Theater in Hollywood today, Marvel Studios officially announced the titles of several of their previously untitled movies. After Warner Bros. surprised fans a couple weeks ago by announcing several DC Comics movies at a shareholders meeting, many had speculated correctly that today’s fan event would be Marvel’s turn to tout their upcoming releases. Marvel Studios officially announced the following movie titles and release dates. 

2015: May 1: The Avengers: Age of Ultron 
         July 17: Ant-Man 

2016: May 6: Captain America 3
          November 4: Doctor Strange 

2017: May 5: Guardians of the Galaxy 2
          July 28: Thor: Ragnarok 
          November 3: Black Panther 

2018: May 4: The Avengers: Infinity War, Part One
          July 6: Captain Marvel 
          November 2: Inhumans 

2019: May 3: The Avengers: Infinity War, Part Two



Ms. Marvel doesn't have an "M" on her suit.

How am I supposed to know who she is?

Get that lady an M, stat!

How could I pass this up?

I mean...it's a steak...for $7 with NO conditions (I always ask for my conditions on the side anyway). If they went to the trouble of making a sign for it...it's kind of rude not to try one.



Nice presentation, a little salad, some nice fries from France and smothered in mushroom sauce. I would have paid $8 for it WITH conditions.

After eating $6.99 worth of my meal (there was a wee chewy bit) and watching the doorman throw a girl who looked like Lucy Lui out of the bar for being too drunk and loud (and she was), I took a stroll over to Vomit Bar, since it appeared to be very busy. I figured I'd hold my breath and peek in to see what brought the kids out...



I had no idea that Eve Arden was so popular over here. I'm sorry...."her" name was "Anita Drink" and, frankly....she'd had more than enough drinks.

I snapped that picture, then this one of a large plastic Tarzan holding a feather boa (I don't remember that part from the Disney movie)...



Then got out into the night air without having to sample any of the "air" inside the bar. I don't know how the rest of the kids can hang out there all night. Keeping their noses deep inside their drinks probably helps...

Oh....I completely forgot to mention that most of the bars in the city (maybe in the country) have gambling rooms in them. Some bars have a whole seperate room just for gambling, while others have more of an alcove, like this one...



Gambling is legal here and they know that the best people to get to gamble are drunk people and, where do you find those?

A bar.

Did I mention that the Aussies like to drink?

They do.

A LOT.

Fishues

Something different is happening with the remake of the movie Splash....

Disney is moving full speed ahead with a re-imagining of Splash, the 1984 sleeper hit film that launched the stars of Tom Hanks and Daryl Hannah, along with Imagine partners Ron Howard and Brian Grazer, the latter of whom hatched the idea for the fish wish-fulfillment story that Howard directed. 

They’ve got an intriguing take: It’s being developed for Channing Tatum to take role that Hannah played, with Jillian Bell in the role that Hanks played.

I'm wondering how many people will have issues with Channing Tatum being featured in another movie where he has to take his shirt off?

Likely...not many.

Sleep-Swimming

The first trailer for Finding Dory, the sequel to Finding Nemo was released today...



Ellen Degeneres' Dory was definitely my favorite character from the first film and it looks like she's back in all her muttering and hilarious glory for this one too.

Well played, Disney.

The film opens June 17th.

May the cash be with you

As expected, Star Wars: The Last Jedi made just a "little" bit of money over the weekend....

Illuminating lightsabers in 54 material overseas markets, Disney/Lucasfilm’s Star Wars: The Last Jedi showed its force with a $230M opening at the international box office. Combined with domestic, that puts the global launch at $450M. 

The worldwide figure ranks The Last Jedi as the No. 5 debut ever.

I could live off just the interest of that money for the rest of my life.

If only.

The Ant-Man cometh

The final poster was released for Ant-Man recently and, along with that, news that Ant-Man will be appearing along with MANY other Marvel heroes in the upcoming Captain America: Civil War movie...

Disney announced the cast for what could be the most comic book character-loaded Marvel movie yet. Captain America: Civil War will have (as it stands now) up to 16 comic book characters in its cast. It’s almost the whole Marvel Cinematic Universe — well, besides Thor and Hulk. 



But now onto the massive cast. Here’s who’s returning, plus the new players, along with their rumored roles: 

Chris Evans as Steve Rogers/Captain America, Robert Downey Jr. as Tony Stark/Iron Man, Scarlett Johansson as Natasha Romanoff/Black Widow, Sebastian Stan as Bucky Barnes/Winter Soldier, Anthony Mackie as Sam Wilson/Falcon, Paul Bettany as The Vision, Jeremy Renner as Clint Barton/Hawkeye, Don Cheadle as Jim Rhodes/War Machine, Elizabeth Olsen as Wanda Maximoff/Scarlet Witch, Paul Rudd as Scott Lang/Ant-Man,  Chadwick Boseman as T’Challa/Black Panther, Emily VanCamp as Sharon Carter/Agent 13, Daniel Brühl who recently revealed he’ll be playing Baron Helmut Zemo (but Marvel does not confirm this in the press release), Frank Grillo as Brock Rumlow/Crossbones, William Hurt as General Thaddeus “Thunderbolt” Ross, Martin Freeman who is rumored to be playing Everett K. Ross

Lordy...that really is just about everyone and it's also likely that Spider-Man is going to show up in this one too.

::mind blown::

I'm in.

Eye C U

Disney released a set of individual character posters for Star Wars: The Force Awakens today...









They're pretty decent and, with the absence of one for Luke Skywalker, continue the mystery around why he's not being featured on the main film poster and, now, these.

Maybe he's just having a manopause-related acne breakout and requested some time to heal before being ready for his close-up.

Mystery solved.

March Madness

Two big movies opening up in March just released their first full trailers.

The first is Ghost in the Shell...



It looks pretty cool and Scarlet Johnson never disappoints when it comes to playing badass characters who can kick some ass.

It opens on March 31st.



The next movie is Disney's live-action version of Beauty and the Beast...



Emma Watson (of Harry Potter fame) seems to be perfectly cast as Belle and the cinematography looks pretty top-notch (much like Maleficent, which I loved).

So, it'll probably make a gazillion dollars.

It opens on March 17th

Purty Mouth

If any of you are lacking nightmare-material, why not purchase this festive Deliverance band for your back yard....

Animatronic Hillbilly band for sale. Purchased new from Sunshine Motion Company (designed and built by someone who used to work on animatronics at Disney World). Band featured for a few season at petting zoo/amusement park in Massachusetts. Selling due to changed business model. Originally purchased for a[[rpx/ $14,000. Asking $5,000.



Only $5,000?

The creepy teeth and googley-eyes alone are worth a lifetime of sleepless nights!

I can't wait to not buy that.

And beyond

Avengers: Infinity War has crossed a pretty major financial milestone in a very short amount of time...

Disney/Marvel’s Avengers: Infinity War has officially crossed the $2 billion worldwide box office mark, joining only three other titles to make that claim: Avatar ($2.78 billion), Titanic ($2.18 billion) and Star Wars: The Force Awakens ($2.06B). 

Infinity War worldwide is Marvel’s highest release ever topping 2012’s Avengers ($1.5 billion), and followed by Avengers: Age of Ultron ($1.4 billion) and Black Panther ($1.345 billion). Infinity War completes the feat in its 48th day of release. 

Stateside, it’s still going strong, taking 5th place in weekend 7 with $7.2M for a running total of $656.1M, the fifth highest grossing title of all time through June 11. Pic holds the record for biggest domestic debut ever with $257.7M in its opening weekend. 

Internationally, Infinity War is the third highest grossing release ever with $1.346B. Its domestic and international debuts over the April 27 weekend combined for a record-shattering global opening of $640.5M even without China. The film opened to a massive $199.3M in China two weeks after the global debut and has gone on to become the third biggest release ever in the country with $369.7M to date.

I wonder if Marvel would just divert the interest payments for these films into my bank account?

They'd barely notice the difference.

But, I definitely would.