Mouse House Shuffle/Tussle...

And so the deck of cards changes even more...

Truthfully, I was surprised when he wasn't let go when Dick Cook was fired. If you haven't heard the news, Oren Aviv, the President of Walt Disney Studios Motion Picture Production has been fired. Or resigned if you believe that Dick Cook did the same.

Much of the slate for this anointed marketing wundkind hasn't exactly panned out. He was one of Dick Cook's chief suits and was believed to be the one to succeed him should he step down. Aviv was the one primarily responsible for "National Treasure" and had guided much of the production as well as development over the past two years. Many of the projects he approved were disappointing in their box office returns, others like the "Jungle Cruise" adaption have failed to materialize. Here is his announcement:

Today, Oren Aviv announced that he is resigning his post of president, Walt Disney Studios Motion Picture Production.

Avis said, “As of today, I'm stepping down from my position as president of Production, Walt Disney Studios. I have loved every day that I have been at the studio and feel incredibly privileged to have been part of a team that enriched my life for 20 years.

I will miss all the amazing filmmakers, the many talented actors and most importantly the lifelong friends I've been so lucky to work with throughout my Disney career.

I'm proud of the hundreds of movies I've helped to make and market, especially the studio's upcoming films, from Alice in Wonderland and Prince of Persia to The Sorcerer's Apprentice and Tron. All have been extremely rewarding creative and personal endeavors for me, and have allowed me to work with the best group of executives and staff in the business.

I wish Disney, Bob Iger, Rich Ross and their new teams great success for many years to come.“

Rich Ross, chairman, The Walt Disney Studios stated, “Oren’s significant contributions to The Walt Disney Studios are well-documented and countless movie-goers have been entertained by his diverse portfolio of films,” said The Walt Disney Studios Chairman, Rich Ross. “We appreciate his work and wish him all the best in his future endeavors.”

A successor will be named at an appropriate time.

Expect more fallout as the Studio shakes off the last remnants of the Cook regime and moves forward with Ross' vision. As the NY Times artile mentions; expect a shake up in the home entertainment division soon, as well. And then there are "other" evolving situations.

Developing much more than you would know...

Setting Sail, Officially...

Well, well, when it comes to release dates, Apple isn't the only one who has them...

Walt Disney Pictures has officially announced the release date of their next film about a certain captain. I don't know this for sure, but for such a firm statement about a delivery date, I'd think something would have had to be put in ink. Perhaps egos and trepidations have been put at ease? Perhaps. But remember this date:

May 20, 2011.

It's an awfully lot closer than it appears...

Hat Tip to Adam.

Raiponce, Raiponce, Veuillez Taisser Tomber Vos Cheveux ...

Raiponce, Raiponce,


Purty...

The folks over at DisneyPixar.fr put up a new photo from Studio Cinelive that shows the beauty of the CG technique that Glen Keane developed for the look of "Rapunzel." Althought he's no longer directing the picture, his influence remains in this image.

Looking forward to hearing more and more about this...

Dick Cook's Long Goodbye...

It's still hard to believe that Dick Cook is gone from the Mouse...

But his legacy will remain and his impression on the imprint of Disney will carry over for at least another couple years. There are many films in production and post-production that will be released between now and 2012 that Cook greenlit as Chairman of the studios. Some will be hits and others could be disappointments, but the final say on his effect on the company he worked at so long, has yet to be written.

I thought we'd look at several films in production that Dick Cook gave the go to:


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Rapunzel - the Nathan Greno and Byron Howard directed, Glen Keane heavily designed CG film that has been in development almost a decade comes out during the holidays next year.

Secretariat - the Diane Lane vehicle about that famous horse, directed by Randall Wallace (who did a draft of the 20k prequel that I just happen to be trying to get a copy of).

The Sorcerer's Apprentice - the Nick Cage staring/Jon Turteltaub directed /Jerry Bruckheimer produce film from the group that brought you "National Treasure" comes this very loosely film based on the classic short from "Fantasia."

Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time - the next franchise, which insiders have labeled as "Pirates of Arabia" that the Mouse hopes to have from Bruckheimer was Cook approved a couple years ago with the hope that that would be what happens.

Alice in Wonderland - the first of two pictures with Tim Burton. This story tells how Alice finds her way back to Wonderland after confronting a real world in which the events that unfold prove to be too much for dear Alice.

Beverly Hills Chihuahua 2 - Do I really blame him for making this? Yes and No. It made a ton of money and would naturally spawn a sequel. So far Ross hasn't pulled the plug on this one.

When in Rome - the romantic comedy vehicle with Kristen Bell and Josh Duhamel that will show the world my future ex-wife is capable of opening a film. Thanks Dick.

The Last Song - the Nicholas Sparks/Miley Cyrus vehicle that also happens to star Greg Kinnear as the dad of a rebellious teen. This is Cyrus attempt to move beyond the Hannah Montana role and Cook helped her out with this project made specifically for her. Thanks Dick!


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Winnie the Pooh - the return of the silly ole' bear that John Lasseter wanted and Cook whole heartily approved of comes to silver screens spring of 2011. There's that year again.

Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides - the return of Jack Sparrow, which Cook announced at D23 is still on, but with Depp's schedule continually piling up with projects around the time this is supposed to start shooting you have to wonder. Any more projects announced for Johnny early next year and you can kiss the summer 2011 opening goodbye. The longer we don't here about this, the greater the chance that it'll fall apart due to the firing of Cook.

Frankenweenie - the second of the two films that Cook got Burton to agree to will be a stop motion retelling of the short, live film that Burton did years ago. Word I hear is that some of the Suits are so taken with "Alice" that they're wanting to extend the deal with a possible third film.


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John Carter of Mars - this is Andrew Stanton's first live-action tale and his interpretation of the iconic pulp character. Cook approved this project after the prodding of Lasseter, and then looking at the the box office results of "Finding Nemo" and "Wall-E" didn't hurt either.

The Snow Queen - the new Chris Buck directed interpretation of the classic story has been in development as long as "Rapunzel." In fact, it's had some of the same people working on it. Glen Keane left this project years ago to work on "Rapunzel."

This is by no means a complete list, but a collection of several of the films that will play a role in writing the epitaph that is/will be Richard Cook's decades worth of service to Disney. There is also the possibility of films coming along based on agreements already in place (del Toro's Disney Double Dare You), sequels to past or current hits (Pirates of the Caribbean, Prince of Persia, Tron) or long gestating Disney properties (The Jungle Cruise, Swiss Family Robinson) that could be taken in to account. Clearly Dick Cook's influence will be felt long into the coming decade whether Iger likes it or not. One wonders if Ross' influence will linger as long after he's gone.

Studio executives have such a short lifespan I think we'll find out sooner, rather than later...

The Future @ The Corner Of Santa Monica & Glendon...

Those of you in Los Angeles traveling down Santa Monica this morning got a nice surprise...

On the corner of Santa Monica and Glendon is a billboard with a new image from "Tron Legacy" that will change with each passing month. So if you add it up that's at least eleven more awesome images to look forward to before we see the actual film.

I've heard from sources that we should be seeing a teaser for the film sooner than you'd think. But this time it'll be a real teaser and not the proof-of-concept one that was shown put online earlier this year.

Also come 2010 expect to see a lot of promotions in the parks. By summer time I'd expect certain areas of the parks to begin to be flooded with merchandise; building to an intense marketing campaign that overwhelms the parks right after the Halloween season ends. Tomorrow land should be very interesting with Star Tours closed. They'll have to have something to keep people in this area and I wonder what it's going to be?

Hmmm...

Oh and if you want to see the actual image on the billboard without any perspective then put another coin in and proceed down to play the game:
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