One of my favorite movies of the 1980s may get a green light on Disney.
The cult-classic fantasy movie Willow (directed by Ron Howard) might be revived as a series for the upcoming Disney+ streaming service.
According to Deadline, Howard has said Jon Kasdan -- who worked with Howard as a writer on Solo: A Star Wars Story -- has been pushing for a reboot on Disney+. Apparently, Howard and George Lucas have long talked about the potential for a Willow series, which might give them an opportunity to build on existing characters.
The original story follows a farmer who protects a special baby from a tyrannical queen set on taking over the world. Lucas developed the idea in the early 70s and later asked Howard to direct it.
The film wasn't necessarily a blockbuster, but it did win two Academy Award nominations and attracted a loyal fan base. Read More
The first teaser for Disney’s live-action remake of 1992 animated hit “Aladdin” is out now and it looks really good..I love the original movie and I think this one will be good too!
The trailer begins with a bird’s eye view of Agrabah, the fictional city where the story takes place, as a parrot — presumably Jafar’s companion Iago — soars overhead. The scene soon transitions to the legendary tiger’s mouth Cave of Wonders, with the outline of Jafar standing out front as Aladdin disappears inside while the gravelly-voiced guardian of the cave intones that “only one may enter here…one whose worth lies far within…the diamond in the rough.”
Massoud, who appeared in Amazon’s “Jack Ryan” series, was cast in the role in July 2017. Guy Ritchie is helming the pic, with original composer Alan Menken collaborating with Benj Pasek and Justin Paul on new songs. Naomi Scott will play Jasmine, with Will Smith as the Genie (a role made famous by Robin Williams in the original film). Marwan Kenzari (“Murder on the Orient Express”) will portray Jafar.
Johnny Depp returns to the big screen as the iconic, swashbuckling anti-hero Jack Sparrow in the all-new “Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales.” The rip-roaring adventure finds down-on-his-luck Captain Jack feeling the winds of ill-fortune blowing strongly his way when deadly ghost sailors, led by the terrifying Captain Salazar (Javier Bardem), escape from the Devil's Triangle bent on killing every pirate at sea—notably Jack.
Jack's only hope of survival lies in the legendary Trident of Poseidon, but to find it he must forge an uneasy alliance with Carina Smyth (Kaya Scodelario), a brilliant and beautiful astronomer, and Henry (Brenton Thwaites), a headstrong young sailor in the Royal Navy.
At the helm of the Dying Gull, his pitifully small and shabby ship, Captain Jack seeks not only to reverse his recent spate of ill fortune, but to save his very life from the most formidable and malicious foe he has ever faced.
Last year, we found out that Beatle legend Paul McCartney had been cast in Pirates Of The Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales. The fifth movie in the Pirates Of The Caribbean series debuts May 26th at a theater near you. Check out the fun theater poster featuring Paul above!
WALT DISNEY RECORDS RELEASES NEW BEAUTY AND THE BEAST MUSIC VIDEO FEATURING ARIANA GRANDE and JOHN LEGEND
GRAMMY nominated and multi-platinum selling artist Ariana Grande and 10-time GRAMMY, Oscar®-winning, and multi-platinum selling singer/songwriter/musician John Legend have filmed a new music video for Beauty and the Beast.
The song will also be featured in the live-action film adaptation and is included on the original motion picture soundtrack that was released on March 10th.
The music video is directed by Dave Meyers, the innovative visionary whose long-time collaborations with major artists like P!nk, Janet Jackson, Ice Cube and Britney Spears have resulted in dozens of award nominations and many wins, including a GRAMMY in 2005 for Best Music Video and 11 MTV Video Music Awards, including one for Katy Perry's smash hit "Firework."
He recently directed the music video for P!nk's hit single "Just Like Fire" from the Walt Disney Records soundtrack for Alice Through The Looking Glass.
The new rendition of the classic song is produced by GRAMMY-winning veteran Ron Fair. Fair's recordings have won six GRAMMY Awards and have been nominated 18 times.
Fair discovered and shepherded Christina Aguilera, selling over 50 million albums and winning numerous GRAMMY Awards. He provided A&R direction for Aguilera's first five albums and championed The Black Eyed Peas to 27 million albums, 4 number-ones and multiple GRAMMY wins and co-produced/arranging the strings on their global breakthrough # 1 hit "Where is The Love."
View the full track listing and order the Walt Disney Records HERE:
ABOUT BEAUTY AND THE BEAST
Disney's animated classic takes on a new form, with a widened mythology and an all-star cast. A young prince, imprisoned in the form of a beast, can be freed only by true love. What may be his only opportunity arrives when he meets Belle, the only human girl to ever visit the castle since it was enchanted.
Been waiting almost a year for the premiere of the Disney live action version of the class Beauty and the Beast! I loved the live versions of Pete's Dragon and Jungle Book. The acting and animal animations are so excellent! Beauty and the Beast is fabulous...
Belle (Emma Watson), a bright, beautiful and independent young woman, is taken prisoner by a beast (Dan Stevens) in its castle. Despite her fears, she befriends the castle's enchanted staff and learns to look beyond the beast's hideous exterior, allowing her to recognize the kind heart and soul of the true prince that hides on the inside.
With the latest live action adaptation of Rudyard Kipling's The Jungle Book, Disney has proven once more that it can pretty much dominate Hollywood whenever it chooses. According to ABC News, the film just won the box office for the third straight week since its opening, and has made close to $700 million worldwide already. It's a pretty immense achievement for a studio that's eyeing another film entirely, Captain America: Civil War, as its big earner for 2016.
But really, The Jungle Book is only the latest in a seemingly innumerable series of Disney projects that has built on prior successes for the studio. It's a pattern for the studio that's paid off time and time again, as demonstrated by some of these examples.
The Jungle Book
We'll go ahead and stick with The Jungle Book to begin with. Most people see this film as a remake of the 1994 live action project directed by Stephen Sommers, and that's fair enough. But there are other bits and pieces of Jungle Book material from Disney that go back even further.
Most notable is the 1967 animated film, which was the first cinematic adaptation of Rudyard Kipling's book, and which was rehashed in several specific scenes in the 2016 movie. For instance, who doesn't remember an animated Mowgli seated on the belly of Baloo the bear as they drift down a river? The scene was brought back to life beautifully in this year's version.
Films aside, there was also an early-'90s Jungle Book game (which you can see on YouTube) that told the story in much the same fashion as the '67 movie. Simply put, this story works and Disney knows it. The 2016 version may be viewed as a bold visual achievement harnessing the power of modern special effects, but it's primarily a rehashing of something we knew and loved.
Pirates Of The Caribbean: The Curse Of The Black Pearl (2003)
In a way, this 2003 film was an entirely original project, other than that it was based, technically, on a ride at Disney World. However, there are clear roots in the 1950 Disney movie Treasure Island, which was one of the studio's first great live-action adventures.
Robert Newton was so thoroughly praised for his role as Long John Silver that he went on to play the infamous pirate in a spinoff sequel and even a TV series. No doubt some of the folks at Disney envisioned a similar type of success for Johnny Depp's Captain Jack Sparrow character 53 years later.
Treasure Island still endures in pop culture in numerous ways. Children still read the book, adults recall the story, and it too has its own game. There's a "Captains Treasure" slot among the options at Gala Bingo that boasts colorful designs of pirates, islands, and treasures. And it all brings classic piracy tales to mind as you hunt your own treasure in the form of slot winnings.
But if you had to relate it to a single project, it would probably be Treasure Island. In much the same way, Pirates Of The Caribbean has become the standard in pirate-related fiction for the modern era, having led to sequels, games, novelizations, and so much more.
Alice In Wonderland (2010)
A lot of people may not realize just how old the Alice in Wonderland story is. Lewis Carroll wrote the book (technically called Alice's Adventures In Wonderland) in 1865, which makes it older than both The Jungle Book and Treasure Island. Thus, there's been plenty of time for adaptation, and the first movie based on Carroll's work was actually a silent film that came out in 1903.
But while a ton of different studios, TV stations, and filmmakers have gotten their hands on the Alice story over the years, it's fair to say the 1951 animated Disney movie brought it to the mainstream in the most meaningful way since the book was written. It's astounding how well the '51 movie has held up over the years, as it's still considered to be a fun animated movie for kids today.
And sure enough, Disney brought Alice back in a big way with the 2010 film, which quickly became the definitive live-action version. And, as noted by the Life section at USA Today, the sequel is on its way May 27, 2016. Basically, Disney revived a 60-year-old project in 2010 and made a franchise out of it.
There are more examples to consider, surely, but these three illustrate the point rather well. For all its genius and creativity, Disney is perhaps mostly a master of taking it's older, successful projects and spinning them into new movies built for modern audiences.
Dick Jones, the Disney Legend who provided the voice for Pinocchio in the classic 1940 feature when he was just 10 years old, died Monday night after a fall in his San Fernando Valley, Calif., home, his son, Rick Jones, tells the Los Angeles Times.
During his long career in Hollywood, Jones appeared in more than 100 films and television shows. He is survived by his wife of 66 years, Betty, and their two sons and two daughters as well as six grandchildren and five great-grandchildren.
Double LP on two 180g translucent blue vinyl records!
Camarillo, CA - Marshall Blonstein's Audio Fidelity is proud to announce the release of Disney’s TRON Original Motion Picture Soundtrack. The 1982 film score was composed, performed and produced by the pioneer electronic musician, Wendy Carlos.
The Audio Fidelity release will contain two 180g translucent blue vinyl records packaged in a distinctive gatefold jacket. Gatefold package includes photos from the film and extensive liner notes written by Wendy Carlos. There are additional liner notes written by music maven Michael Fremer. The album was mastered by Kevin Gray at Cohearent Audio.
Disney's 1982 video game crossover movie TRON was a notable landmark in the synthesis of electronic and traditional orchestral music. Carlos created a brilliant orchestral recording with symphonic backgrounds by the London Philharmonic Orchestra and the UCLA Chorus which was later enhanced and upgraded with an electronic score. The result is an impressive soundscape that successfully and seamlessly fuses organic and electronic music.
The multi-Grammy award winning Wendy Carlos best-known for her popular “Switched on Bach,” series of albums also composed and performed on the soundtracks of two Stanley Kubrick cinema masterpieces, “A Clockwork Orange” and “The Shining.”
The TRON album includes two additional tracks (“Only Solutions” and the rock guitar-driven instrumental, “1990's Theme”) provided by Journey, one of America's best selling and most beloved bands.
Gatefold package includes colorful photos and extensive liner notes!
TRACKS:
SIDE 1
1-Creation Of TRON
2-Only Solutions - Journey
3-We've Got Company
4-Wormhole
5-Ring Game And Escape
6-Water, Music, And Tronaction
SIDE 2
1-TRON Scherzo
2-Miracle and Magician
3-Magic Landings
4-Theme From TRON
5-1990's Theme - Journey
6-Love Theme
SIDE 3
1-Tower Music - Let Us Pray
2-The Light Sailer
3-Sea Of Simulation
SIDE 4
1-A New TRON And The MCP
2-Anthem
3-Ending Titles
