Month: August 2015

1.

“Cool to Kill: The Ascendance of N.W.A and Gangsta Rap”: A superb, music-filled article by Soulhead‘s Michael A. Gonzales. Related: Deadline‘s Mike Fleming Jr. chats with director F. Gary Gray about “the hard life lessons that led to ‘Straight Outta Compton.'”

“When I first heard pioneering Los Angeles rap crew Niggaz Wit Attitudes (N.W.A) in the late 1980s, they were the last brothers I ever thought I’d be watching a film about damn near thirty years later. With the release of their marauding masterpiece Straight Outta Compton (1988), which inspired the title of the film biopic that hits theaters this Friday, the four-man crew crashed on the scene rapping about crack, guns and b—ches, and went from unknown to infamous virtually overnight. On the thuggish track ‘Gangsta Gangsta,’ Ice Cube bellows over the hypnotic Dr. Dre blessed beat, ‘Takin’ a life or two that’s what the hell I do, you don’t like how I’m livin’, well f—k you.’ All up in your face, one could damn near feel Cube’s spittle. ‘Do I look like a muthaf—kin’ role model? To a kid lookin’ up to me, life ain’t nothin’ but b—ches and money.’ The song’s title was later adopted to coin the ‘gangsta rap’ genre. While some gangsta rappers scripted cautionary songs about the literal dead-end (jail, death) of the bang bang lifestyle, most wrote rhymes that celebrated their world of bullets, blow, b—ches and body bags. Gangsta rap was seductive in its abusiveness, as addictive as the drugs it was spawned from. As societal conditions worsened during the crack years, some gangsta rappers perceived themselves as grassroots voices of the people living in deteriorating communities. Late rapper-businessman Eazy-E, who signed Black Eyed Peas before he died in 1995, co-owned N.W.A’s label Ruthless Records with his manager Jerry Heller. They recruited producer Dr. Dre, DJ Yella, MC Ren and Ice Cube, the best rapper in their crew. Dre’s gritty production on Eazy’s solo debut album Eazy-Duz-It and the group effort Straight Outta Compton didn’t qualify as full-blown g-funk yet, but one could see where he was headed. With more than a chip on their collective shoulders, N.W.A put California rap on the map and blasted (verbally, of course) anyone who got in their way. Through all the gun smoke and nightmare-inducing imagery, they constructed Straight Outta Compton as a criminal-minded album that was as harsh as tear gas sprayed in a morning police raid.”

2.

“Kodak’s First Digital Moment”: James Estrin of The New York Times interviews Steven Sasson, the inventor of digital photography.

“Mr. Sasson, all of 24 years old, invented the process that allows us to make photos with our phones, send images around the world in seconds and share them with millions of people. The same process completely disrupted the industry that was dominated by his Rochester employer and set off a decade of complaints by professional photographers fretting over the ruination of their profession. It started out innocently enough. Soon after arriving at Kodak, Mr. Sasson was given a seemingly unimportant task — to see whether there was any practical use for a charged coupled device (C.C.D.), which had been invented a few years earlier. ‘Hardly anybody knew I was working on this, because it wasn’t that big of a project,’ Mr. Sasson said ‘It wasn’t secret. It was just a project to keep me from getting into trouble doing something else, I guess.’ He quickly ordered a couple of them and set out to evaluate the devices, which consisted of a sensor that took an incoming two dimensional light pattern and converted it into an electrical signal. Mr. Sasson wanted to capture an image with it, but the C.C.D. couldn’t hold it because the electrical pulses quickly dissipated. To store the image, he decided to use what was at that time a relatively new process — digitalization — turning the electronic pulses into numbers. But that solution led to another challenge — storing it on RAM memory, then getting it onto digital magnetic tape.”

3.

“Inside Industrial Light & Magic’s secret Star Wars VR lab”: The Verge‘s Bryan Bishop visits an advanced cinematic galaxy not all that far away.

“When Rob Bredow left Sony Pictures Imageworks for ILM in 2014, it didn’t take him long to realize what he’d gotten himself into. ‘It was like my first week here, and an assistant knocks on the door real urgently. ‘Yeah, did someone request a lightsaber from the showroom down the hall?’’ He grins, bright eyes sparkling behind his glasses. ‘I’m definitely working at Lucasfilm now.’ Bredow had spent the previous five years as Imageworks’ chief technology officer, a role that followed years of VFX experience on movies like ‘Independence Day’ and ‘The Polar Express.’ But as we walk through the halls of ILM, he tells me it was the chance to work on the new ‘Star Wars’ films that lured him away. Now, as Lucasfilm’s head of New Media and vp of its Advanced Development Group, he oversees the intersection of technology and storytelling that is ILMxLab. The group is a collaboration between all arms of the Lucasfilm empire, taking the visual effects expertise of ILM, the latest in real-time computer graphics from the Advanced Development Group, and the audio prowess of Skywalker Sound, and mixing it all together under the incomparable appeal of the ‘Star Wars’ franchise. It’s a unique effort; while other movie studios are teaming with tech companies to dabble in VR, and VR companies are spinning up their own mini production houses to dip their toes into film, ILM already has the necessary departments integrated under one roof — not to mention a highly-anticipated slate of films in production to play off of. It allows Bredow’s team to experiment with multiple types of experiences simultaneously, in a kind of next-generation entertainment sandbox.”

4.

“TV is Not the New Film”: Provocative commentary penned by Mike S. Ryan at Filmmaker Magazine.

“With television co-opting cultural conversation and provocative content, the feature film format is indeed under assault. But, like the novel — which was in free fall in the early ’50s due to the emergence of TV — the form will continue and, in time, a new appreciation of its unique qualities will emerge. If your intent as a creator is primarily to tell stories and engage a mass audience, then I think it has become clear that there are more, possibly better mediums for you than cinema. But if you call yourself a filmmaker or a film lover, then you should be someone invested in the specific qualities of the cinematic medium. In this current time of transition, as new mediums and new lifestyle habits are being formed, we as filmmakers and film lovers need to assert cinema’s position in the crowded visual entertainment landscape. Quite simply, we need to assert the unique qualities of the feature film format, qualities that make it distinctive from all other mediums. Like an old married couple looking to renew their vows, it may be time for us film lovers to restate the reason why we fell in love with the form to begin with. And if there is no distinction between film and television when it comes to subject matter and characters, then that means the distinction must be found in form, not content. Hopefully, listing these aspects that differentiate film from television will give you a reason to make a film — or to simply go out to your local theater, buy a ticket and enjoy the uninterrupted darkness.”

5.

“A Nimoy back on the bridge: Cruising the con with Mr. Spock’s son”: Jordan Hoffman of The Los Angeles Times chats with Adam Nimoy.

“‘I was on set for pretty much the entire first season,’ he says. ‘I was a 10-year-old kid, right who they were aiming for!’ Nimoy is here shooting a documentary, funded partially through Kickstarter, called ‘For the Love of Spock.’ He’s eyeing a release for next year, in time for the 50th anniversary of ‘Star Trek.’ He wants to make the definitive film about Spock, the importance of this ubiquitous icon and his impact. In addition to film and TV footage, Nimoy’s documentary will access his family’s own stash of Spockanalia, plus new interviews with William Shatner and George Takei. The film will be narrated by the current green-blooded torchbearer, Zachary Quinto. Nimoy suggests that much of the endurance of his father’s character comes from people identifying with the feeling of an outsider trying to fit in. ‘My father nailed that role because it was him, the son of Orthodox Jewish immigrants hoping to assimilate and get a career in Hollywood,’ Nimoy says. Also: ‘He was a numbers guy.’ Sitting in the captain’s chair, he begins prodding the illuminated buttons. Nothing happens. You really expect to hear a phaser burst when you jam down your thumb. ‘Yeah, it always was a tiny bit disappointing when they don’t actually move the ship around,’ he says. ‘But I should really be over by the science station.’”

Image of the Day

Daisy Woodward of AnOther Mag explores Kyler Zeleny’s “Found Polaroids” website.

Video of the Day

Nelson Carvajal’s latest essential video essay asks, “Where does ‘Straight Outta Compton’ Really Come From?”

Source:: http://www.rogerebert.com/thumbnails/thumbnails-81715

      

At the last D23 Expo’s animation panel in 2013, fans were delighted by a little impromptu song by Tom Hiddleston and then a very well-planned finale of Idina Menzel singing the hit song of the year, “Let It Go” from “Frozen.” This year, fans couldn’t convince “Modern Family” star Ed O’Neill to sing, but the crowd was wowed by the presence of Ellen Degeneres, Randy Newman and Dwight “The Rock” Johnson, and was treated to a South Pacific-influenced musical concert. John Lasseter, Chief Creative Officer of Walt Disney and Pixar Animation Studios, was the afternoon’s emcee and fans of Pixar’s “Toy Story” series and “Finding Nemo” had reason to scream with delight.

“Finding Dory”

Degeneres was at the expo to help promote the much anticipated sequel to 2003’s “Finding Nemo,” which will center on Degeneres’ character and be called “Finding Dory.” Dory is the forgetful blue tang that Nemo befriended in the previous film. A reel of Degeneres on her talk show making wishful comments to campaign for a sequel was shown to the audience before Degeneres came on stage. Although Degeneres is known for awkward humor, the lack of planned patter might have disappointed the audience, but the audience was delighted by the separate scenes introducing O’Neill’s character Hank, a curmudgeonly octopus, and “Modern Family” star Ty Burrell as Bailey, a beluga whale who mistakenly thinks his head bump is an injury instead of a natural characteristic of his species, and “Always Sunny in Philadelphia” star Kaitlin Olson as Destiny, a whale shark who is sure she is really a whale.

Oscar®-winning director Andrew Stanton (“Finding Nemo,” “WALL-E”), co-director Angus MacLane and producer Lindsey Collins (co-producer “WALL-E”) offered details about the all-new story, which reunites Dory with friends Nemo and Marlin and takes Dory to California’s Monterey Bay, and the famed aquarium and rehab facility there. Albert Brooks will be returning to voice his character, the clownfish Marlin, but young Nemo will be voiced by another young star (Hayden Rolence) due to the voice change that comes with aging (Alexander Gould is now 21 but was 9 when the original movie came out). Eugene Levy and Diane Keaton will voice Dory’s parents.

Disney·Pixar’s “Finding Dory” is scheduled for release on June 17, 2016.

“Riley’s First Date?”

If you enjoyed Pixar’s “Inside Out,” you’ll be delighted to know that it will feature more emotions emoting when it comes out as a digital bundle on Oct. 13 and on Blu-ray Nov. 3, 2015. The D23 Expo audience was treated to the world premiere of the animated short “Riley’s First Date?” Director Josh Cooley, along with “Inside Out” filmmakers Pete Docter (“Up,” “Monsters, Inc.”) and Jonas Rivera (“Up”), introduced the short, which revisits Riley, who is now 12 and the film deals with both her father and mother trying to figure out if this guy at their door is Riley’s first date. Cooley commented, that they “all have daughters” and were a “father-daughter support group” during the production of “Inside Out” and “having a daughter myself, it was a lot of fun to mine my own feelings to show this emotional time in a parent’s life.”

“The Good Dinosaur”

At the last D23 Expo, the originally announced director Bob Peterson was noticeably absent. The story line seemed to be about an agrarian society of dinosaurs with the main character a sauropod. At this year’s D23 Expo, the story was explained as a boy and his dog story. Director Peter Sohn and producer Denise Ream showed breathtaking sequences with fans, including never-before-seen footage of a trio of T-Rexes in action. For fans of animation, the first scene will make you gasp. The foliage in this 3D animated feature is so lifelike while the water is up to the quality of the last feature film installment of “How to Train Your Dragon.”

The feature takes place in the American Northwest. Arlo, the youngest in an Apatosaurus family, loses his father and gets swept away from his family. On his journey home, he meets an orphaned human who he calls Spot and is forced to help a trio of T-Rex cowboys who don’t need to ride horses, but are ready to wrangle rustlers (velociraptors). Arlo is the boy; Spot is the dog. In this parallel universe apparently the human race has gone to the dogs.

“Arlo and Spot journey through a world that has been greatly inspired by the American Northwest,” said Sohn. “It is epic in scope, soul-enriching and simultaneously beautiful and treacherous. In this world, we meet up with a very special family of T-Rexes, who help Arlo find a way through his personal fears and ultimately teach Arlo what he’s truly made of.”

“The Good Dinosaur” will be in theaters on Nov. 25, 2015.

“Zootopia”

I love rabbits. Before I had dogs, I had rabbits and before I had rabbits, I was a frequent visitor to one of the world’s most famous zoos, the San Diego Zoo. I also love Shakira whose “Hips Don’t Lie” inspired me to take up belly dancing. I don’t know if there will be any belly dancing in “Zootopia,” but Shakira is lending her Grammy®-winning voice to Gazelle, the biggest pop star in Zootopia, Zootopia is a modern mammal metropolis where rookie rabbit officer Judy Hopps (voiced by ABC’s “Once Upon a Time ” Ginnifer Goodwin) must solve a crime with the less than honest fox Nick Wilde (voiced by Jason Bateman). Judy Hopps’ motto is in Zootopia, “Anyone can be anything” as she becomes the first rabbit cop in the Zootopia Police Department. Nick’s motto is “We are who we are.“

Goodwin joined directors Byron Howard (“Tangled”) and Rich Moore (“Wreck-It Ralph”), and producer Clark Spencer (“Wreck-It Ralph”) to help introduce fun scenes from the film that included the fox pulling a clever con at an elephant-run ice cream parlor where he first meets the rabbit, and a segment that aptly illustrates every driver’s least favorite experience of waiting at the DMV (Department of Mammal Vehicles) with all the employees portrayed as sloths.

A recorded message from Shakira teased the audience with a fragment of the all-new original song, “Try Everything,” written by singer-songwriter Sia and songwriting duo Stargate, and performed by Shakira. Said Howard, “For the role of Gazelle, Zootopia’s most beloved superstar, there was only one person on our wish list: Shakira. Luckily for us, she said yes. Her immense talent and charm bring Gazelle and her song, ‘Try Everything,’ to life.”

Walt Disney Animation Studios’ “Zootopia” opens nationwide March 4, 2016.

“Toy Story 4”

This year, Pixar Animation Studios marks the 20th anniversary of the movie that really launched the studio: “Toy Story.” Said Lasseter, “All the characters from ‘Toy Story’—especially Woody and Buzz—are so close to us. They seem more like family members than just creations. Not only do we dearly love the characters, but we also love the world of ‘Toy Story’—the world where toys come to life when people are not in the room has always been rich with many story possibilities.“

Lasseter, who’s one of Pixar’s three founders, welcomed to the stage two-time Oscar®-winning songwriter and longtime Pixar collaborator Randy Newman, whose Pixar credits include “Toy Story,” “A Bug’s Life,” “Toy Story 2,” “Monsters, Inc.” and “Cars.”

Also joining in the celebration were “Toy Story 4” co-director Josh Cooley (“Cars 2,” “Ratatouille”) and producer Galyn Susman (“Toy Story OF TERROR!”) and screenwriters Rashida Jones and Will McCormack (“Celeste & Jesse Forever”).

“I’m very proud of our films,” said Lasseter. “When we made the first three ‘Toy Story’ films, we didn’t realize what we had done was to change the genre of each of the films’ story. For ‘Toy Story 4,’ we are doing a type of story we have not done before: a love story. It’s a story about a relationship between Woody and Bo Peep. “

“Toy Story 4,” which will be directed by Lasseter and produced by Susman, is slated for release on June 16, 2017.

“Gigantic”

From the title and the image, you’ll get hints that Walt Disney Animation Studios is looking into the famous fairy tale “Jack and the Bean Stalk” for their feature “Gigantic.” The movie will feature music from Oscar®-winning songwriters Kristen Anderson-Lopez and Robert Lopez, who shared one song with the D23 EXPO fans with art for the sequence projected on the large screens. Director Nathan Greno (“Tangled”) and producer Dorothy McKim (“Get A Horse!”) described how they decided to set the tale during the Age of Exploration in Spain because Jack is an explorer and the land in the clouds doesn’t have one giant couple, but a whole world of giants. While doing research in Spain, the team met a girl named Inma with a giant personality and she inspired them to make the story into one that features a 60-foot girl named Inma. In the song, Inma has just discovered the frightened Jack and is playing with him as if he were a doll.

“I always wanted to be part of the Disney legacy,” said Greno. “I loved those classic stories brought to life—‘Snow White’ or ‘Cinderella’—in a way that made those films the definitive version for generations. I want to carry on that tradition by bringing ‘Jack and the Beanstalk’ to modern audiences. We’re taking parts of the story we all remember and adding twists and turns, emotion and humor.” In the story, both worlds are threatened by storm giants.

“Gigantic” hits theaters in 2018.

“Coco”

With the the growing popularity of Day of the Dead-inspired art along with a growing Latino population, and the release last year of Fox’s Day of the Dead-inspired 3D-computer animated feature “The Book of Life,” which received a Golden Globe nomination, it should come as no surprise that Disney also wants to do an animated feature with Dia de los Muertos design features. Director Lee Unkrich (“Toy Story 3”) and producer Darla K. Anderson (“Toy Story 3”) were on stage to talk about Disney·Pixar’s “Coco,” describing it as the celebration of a lifetime, where the discovery of a generations-old mystery leads to a surprising family reunion.

“As artists and filmmakers, we couldn’t help but be drawn to the striking visuals of Dia de los Muertos,” said Unkrich and Anderson. “But it was the celebration’s core themes of family, remembrance and connection across generations that resonated within and truly inspired us. Dia de los Muertos is as singular as the Mexican culture, while at the same time completely universal in its message.”

“In our story,” they continued, “the celebration of Dia de los Muertos serves as the perfect backdrop for our main character to ask where he comes from, what his place is within his family, and how families stay woven together across time through the simple act of remembrance.“

“Moana”

The man who can really play to the audiences, perhaps in part due to his time as a wrestler in the WWE, Dwayne Johnson (“San Andreas,” “Furious 7,” HBO’s “Ballers”), came on stage near the end of the presentation. The Rock lends his voice to the mighty demi-god Maui in Walt Disney Animation Studios’ “Moana.” Directors John Musker and Ron Clements (“The Little Mermaid,” “The Princess and the Frog,” “Aladdin”), and producer Osnat Shurer (Oscar®-nominated Pixar shorts “One Man Band,” “Boundin’”) shared early test footage and revealed plans for the film’s inspired music and the extraordinary team behind it. Tony®-winner Lin-Manuel Miranda (Broadway’s hottest new hit “Hamilton,” Tony-winning “In the Heights”), Grammy®-winning composer Mark Mancina (“Speed”, “Tarzan” “The Lion King”) and Opetaia Foa’i (founder and lead singer of the world music award-winning band Te Vaka) blend their diverse and dynamic talents to help tell the tale of a spirited teenager who sets out to prove herself a master wayfinder.

“Our research took us deep into the South Pacific,” said Clements. “The wonderful people we met there, their rich history and traditions, and their fantastic music changed us forever.”

According to Musker, 2,000 years ago, the people of the South Pacific were the world’s greatest navigators. They used no instruments, but understood the stars and wave patterns. For some reason, there was a period of time when these people stopped their explorations and long distance journeys and this story is about how they got their maritime mojo back. The main character, Moana, will need the help of the sea and lava, both of which are portrayed as characters in test clips shown to the D23 audience. From an early age, Moana has felt that the ocean is her friend. Now Moana takes a long boat with her pet pig Pua and a pessimistic rooster Heihei. Musker and Clements jokingly suggested that Pua was Clements and Heihei was Musker.

According to my research Heihei means storm or disturbance in Maori and Pua means flower in the same language. Moana is a girl’s name that means large body of water.

“We can’t wait to bring those experiences to ‘Moana,’” added Musker. “We are incredibly lucky to be able to work with three amazing artists who are the absolute best at what they do. The sounds they create will be something we’ve never heard before—but it’ll feel like it’s been part of this world forever.”

The Rock commented that “When I first got into this business, 15 years ago, I had a goal which was to be in a Disney family, to be in a Disney animated story.” The California-born Johnson also reminded the audience that he is half-Samoan and half black and because of this he said, “I feel such a deep connection to this (film).” He described Maui as “relentlessly, amazingly handsome” and that “clearly it’s the hair.” His character is in the middle, between the world of the gods and the world of humans, “trying to please both worlds.” Maui’s tattoos also tell his story.

Johnson helped introduce the musicians and Foa’i and his band Te Vaka capped the presentation with South Pacific dancers moving to the movie’s music. “Moana” sails into U.S. theaters on Nov. 23, 2016.

The audience was then let out on to the exhibition hall. A lucky few caught t-shirts and Hawaiian shirts during the presentation, but otherwise no swag for all audience members as with the Saturday morning live-action panel where audience members got two posters. Although no mention was made of “The Incredibles” during the Disney-Pixar animation presentation, on the exhibition floor, there was a poster hinting at the development of a sequel.

Source:: http://www.rogerebert.com/balder-and-dash/pixar-and-walt-disney-animation-highlight-upcoming-films-at-d23

      

At the biannual D23 Expo, I saw more than one Jack Sparrow, and some lucky faithful saw the real deal. Johnny Depp made surprise appearances: First as a surprise honoree at the Friday morning Disney Legends Awards and then again at the Saturday morning live-action movie presentation.

Press seats for both were limited and not provided for RogerEbert.com. The line for the Legends Awards began the day before the expo opened, and in an unusual move, people were allowed to sleep over in Hall E. The official line began at 10 p.m. according to signs, but the line for the Saturday morning live-action presentation actually began at 8 a.m. on Friday morning. Those with extra cash and willing to pay for premium membership and tickets got special treatment and were seated before the waiting crowds to fill the 7,500 seats in the newly relocated D23 Hall.

This year, there was no overflow room where the surplus people could view the action live on a big screen. That led to more than one disgruntled die-hard local D23 fan to grumble. No live entertainment was provided for the crowds during the day and only the front few rows of waiting fans could see and hear the loop of Disney features playing on the row of drop down big screens in front of the waiting crowds. Saturday morning I was in the back two rows of the waiting throngs. Friday afternoon, I was in the front and waited for six hours. To wait over 24 hours to report on a presentation doesn’t seem worthwhile. Below is information gleaned from the official press releases.

Besides Depp, the Disney Legends honored were retired ESPN executive chairman George Bodenheimer, animator Andreas Deja, Disney artist Eyvind Earle, composer Danny Elfman, filmmaker George Lucas, ABC soap opera star Susan Lucci, Disneyland ambassador Julie Reihm Casaletto and Disney artist Carson Van Osten.

Bodenhimer retired from his role as Executive Chairman of ESPN in May 2014, and enjoyed a remarkable 33-year career that began in the company’s mailroom in 1981. Working his way through the ranks, he became executive vice president of sales and marketing in 1996, before being named the network’s fifth president in 1998. He held that role until 2012, when he stepped down from day-to-day operations.

Deja animated Gaston for “Beauty and the Beast,” Jafar for “Aladdin,” and Scar for “The Lion King”. He has also brought life to heroes such as Hercules, Lilo (“Lilo & Stitch”), regal King Triton (“The Little Mermaid”), wise Mama Odie (“The Princess and the Frog”), and loveable Tigger (“Winnie the Pooh”). In 2007, he was awarded the prestigious Winsor McCay Award for his contributions to the art of animation.

Earle brought his unique style to a number of memorable projects including the visual styling and backgrounds for the Disney classic “Sleeping Beauty.” Earle’s career with Disney began in 1951, working on background artwork for “Peter Pan.” He created the look of the 1953 animated short “Toot, Whistle, Plunk and Boom,” which won an Academy Award^® for Best Short Subject, Cartoons in 1954.

Elfman provided the songs and score for “The Nightmare Before Christmas,” as was the singing voice of Jack Skellington. He also scored several Disney films including “Alice in Wonderland,” “Avengers: Age of Ultron,” and “Dick Tracy.” Elfman also wrote the theme for ABC’s “Desperate Housewives” and penned the music for the “Mystic Manor” attraction at Hong Kong Disneyland. His upcoming Disney projects include “Alice in Wonderland: Through the Looking Glass.”

Lucas is also a longtime Disney fan whose first project with Disney was “Captain EO,” the 1986 3-D spectacular starring Michael Jackson and directed by Francis Ford Coppola. Besides that, there are also Star Tours and Indiana Jones Adventureat Disneyland, as well as Indiana Jones Epic Stunt Spectacular at Disney’s Hollywood Studios, Indiana Jones et le Temple du Péril in Disneyland Paris, and two Indiana Jones Adventure attractions at Disneyland Tokyo and DisneySea.

Lucci played Erica Kane on ABC’s soap opera “All My Children” for 41 years, a role that earned Lucci 21 Daytime Emmy^® nominations. She won the Emmy for Best Actress to an industry-wide standing ovation on her 19th nomination. The actress has also appeared on ABC’s “Dancing with the Stars” and “Hope & Faith,” as well as Disney Channel’s “That’s So Raven.” Lucci currently stars in the Lifetime series, “Devious Maids,” produced by ABC Studios, as the wealthy socialite, Genevieve Delatour.

Casaletto who began her Disney career as a tour guide, became Disneyland’s first Ambassador in 1965—a role created to help Walt, who found it increasingly difficult to attend all the events to which he was invited. As Disneyland’s first Ambassador, she was chosen “as a personification of Disneyland’s world-famous spirit of friendliness and happiness.” She became the template upon which decades of Ambassadors would pattern themselves.

Van Osten brought Disney characters to life in a variety of media, all around the world, for three decades. During Van Osten’s tenure, he oversaw creative content for motion picture tie-in advertising, many Disney publications, and also established some of the first licensing style guides for Disney Consumer Products. The talented artist designed logos for Mickey Mouse’s 50th and 60th birthdays, the Walt Disney Studios logo and water tower design, and the Disneyland Hotel clock tower “Mickey” logo in Paris.

Each honoree received a two-foot-tall bronze Disney Legends sculpture that signifies the imagination, creativity, and magic they have brought to the company. Disney Legends Award recipients will also participate in a handprint ceremony at the end of the event, and their bronzed prints will be displayed in the Disney Legends Plaza at the Company’s Burbank headquarters.

On Saturday morning, the diehard Disney fans willing to camp out or pay big bucks were able to see the Disney, Marvel Studios and Lucasfilm presentations of coming live action films. Walt Disney Studios Chairman Alan Horn hosted and surprise guest appearances were made by Depp and Harrison Ford.

“It’s quite something to be able to have Disney, Marvel and Lucasfilm all on the same stage, and it’s tremendously gratifying to unveil our upcoming projects to our most dedicated fans first,” said Horn. “We always have an incredible time at the D23 EXPO.”

• Kevin Feige led off with a glimpse into the world of Marvel’s “Doctor Strange,” featuring a video greeting by Benedict Cumberbatch, who stars as the title character, followed by a pre-production piece that offered fans a taste of the look and feel of the upcoming film, opening in U.S. theaters on October 26, 2016.

• Marvel’s “Captain America: Civil War” marched into D23 EXPO with an introduction by its producer, Kevin Feige. To the delight of the audience, Chris Evans and Anthony Mackie showed up on stage to help Feige show never-seen-before footage from the movie. Before the footage rolled, Feige revealed that there was a special “Easter egg” for fans to find: a nod to D23 Expo.

Marvel’s “Captain America: Civil War” picks up where “Avengers: Age of Ultron” left off, as Steve Rogers leads the new team of Avengers in their continued efforts to safeguard humanity. After another international incident involving the Avengers results in collateral damage, political pressure mounts to install a system of accountability and a governing body to determine when to enlist the services of the team. The new status quo fractures the Avengers while they try to protect the world from a new and nefarious villain.

The movie stars Chris Evans, Robert Downey Jr., Scarlett Johansson, Sebastian Stan, Anthony Mackie, Emily VanCamp, Don Cheadle, Jeremy Renner, Chadwick Boseman, Paul Bettany, Elizabeth Olsen, Paul Rudd, Frank Grillo, Tom Holland, with William Hurt and Daniel Brühl. Marvel’s “Captain America: Civil War” is directed by Anthony and Joe Russo and produced by Kevin Feige. Louis D’Esposito, Alan Fine, Victoria Alonso, Patricia Whitcher, Nate Moore and Stan Lee serve as executive producers and the screenplay is by Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely. Marvel’s “Captain America: Civil War” opens in the U.S. on May 6, 2016.

• Sean Bailey took the stage to introduce the first film in the Disney live-action lineup, “The Finest Hours,”which is based on the remarkable true story of the most daring rescue mission in the history of the Coast Guard. Chris Pine, who plays Bernie Webber, the captain of the rescue boat, joined Bailey on stage to give fans a peak at the heroic action-thriller.

Presented in Digital 3D™, Real D 3D and IMAX® 3D, the film, which is directed by Craig Gillespie and also stars Casey Affleck, Ben Foster, Holliday Grainger, John Ortiz and Eric Bana, transports audiences to the heart of the action, creating a fully-immersive cinematic experience on an epic scale.

“The Finest Hours” is produced by Jim Whitaker and Dorothy Aufiero and Doug Merrifield is the executive producer. The film is based on the book by Michael J. Tougias and Casey Sherman and the screenplay is by Scott Silver and Paul Tamasy and Eric Johnson. “The Finest Hours” storms into U.S. theaters on January 29, 2016.

• After an introduction by Sean Bailey, Jon Favreau, director of Disney’s upcoming “The Jungle Book,” welcomed to the stage newcomer Neel Sethi, who was selected from thousands of candidates to play man-cub Mowgli; plus Oscar® winners Ben Kingsley, who voices Mowgli’s mentor Bagheera the panther to life, and Lupita Nyong’o, who lends her voice to the protective mother wolf Raksha. Favreau treated fans to a sneak peek of footage from the film, and each guest received a copy of the dramatic teaser poster following the presentation. The all-new, live-action epic adventure showcases Mowgli’s journey of self-discovery when he’s forced to abandon the only home he’s ever known.

Based on Rudyard Kipling’s timeless stories and inspired by Disney’s 1967 animated classic, the film features state-of the-art technology that immerses audiences in the lush world like never before. “The Jungle Book” also features the voices of Bill Murray, Idris Elba, Scarlett Johansson, Giancarlo Esposito and Christopher Walken. Jon Favreau and Brigham Taylor produce and the screenplay is by Justin Marks. “The Jungle Book” hits theaters in stunning 3D and IMAX 3D on April 15, 2016.

• Bailey welcomed Mia Wasikowska to the stage, where she introduced a preview of the all-new adventure, “Alice Through the Looking Glass,” featuring the unforgettable characters from Lewis Carroll’s stories. Director James Bobin brings his own unique vision to the spectacular world Tim Burton created on screen in 2010 with “Alice in Wonderland,” in which Alice (Wasikowska) returns to the whimsical world of Underland and travels back in time to save the Mad Hatter. The film, which once again features Johnny Depp, Anne Hathaway, Helena Bonham Carter and the voices of Alan Rickman, Stephen Fry, Michael Sheen and Timothy Spall, introduces several new characters as well: Zanik Hightopp (Rhys Ifans), the Mad Hatter’s father, and Time himself (Sacha Baron Cohen), a peculiar creature who is part human, part clock.

Joe Roth, Suzanne Todd and Jennifer Todd, and Tim Burton produce and John G. Scotti is the executive producer. The screenplay is by Linda Woolverton. Presented in Digital 3D™, Real D 3D and IMAX® 3D, Disney’s “Alice Through the Looking Glass” opens in U.S. theaters on May 27, 2016.

• Bryce Dallas Howard joined Bailey on stage to talk about her starring role in “Pete’s Dragon,” a reimagining of Disney’s 1977 combined live-action and animated musical family film about an orphaned boy named Pete and his best friend Elliott, a dragon. “Pete’s Dragon” is directed by David Lowery, produced by Jim Whitaker, and executive-produced by Barrie Osborne, and also stars Oakes Fegley, Wes Bentley, Karl Urban, Oona Laurence and Robert Redford. “Pete’s Dragon” opens in U.S. theaters on August 12, 2016.

• Bailey, with the help of Lupita Nyong’o, introduced the crowd to the upcoming film “Queen of Katwe,” which is based on the inspirational true story of a girl from the poverty-stricken slums of rural Uganda who dreams of becoming a champion chess player. Directed by Mira Nair from a screenplay by William Wheeler based on the book by Tim Crothers, “Queen of Katwe” stars Nyong’o, David Oyelowo and newcomer Medina Nalwanga.

• Bailey next presented “Beauty and the Beast,” including a musical greeting from stars Emma Watson, Josh Gad and Luke Evans—sent from the London set where they are currently filming. The live-action musical is a retelling of the studio’s animated classic, and stars Watson, Dan Stevens, Evans, Gad, Kevin Kline, Ewan McGregor, Stanley Tucci, Emma Thompson, Ian McKellen, Gugu Mbatha-Raw, Audra McDonald and newcomer Nathan Mack. The film is directed by Bill Condon. Alan Menken, who won two Academy Awards® (Best Original Score and Best Song) for the animated classic, provides the score, which will include new recordings of the original songs written by Menken and Tim Rice, as well as several new songs. “Beauty and the Beast” will be released in U.S. theaters on March 17, 2017.

• A surprise visit by Johnny Depp, who showed up on stage completely decked out as Captain Jack Sparrow, brought down the house and thrilled fans at Sean Bailey’s presentation of the next exciting film in the “Pirates of the Caribbean” franchise, “Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales.”

Thrust into an all-new adventure, a down-on-his-luck Captain Jack Sparrow finds the winds of ill-fortune blowing even more strongly when deadly ghost pirates led by his old nemesis, the terrifying Captain Salazar (Bardem), escape from the Devil’s Triangle, determined to kill every pirate at sea. Captain Jack must find the legendary Trident of Poseidon, a powerful artifact that bestows upon its possessor total control over the seas.

The film is directed by Espen Sandberg & Joachim Rønning and stars Johnny Depp, Javier Bardem, Brenton Thwaites, Kevin R. McNally, Kaya Scodelario, Golshifteh Farahani, Stephen Graham, David Wenham and Geoffrey Rush. Jerry Bruckheimer is the producer and Chad Oman, Mike Stenson, Joe Caracciolo, Jr. and Brigham Taylor serve as executive producers. Jeff Nathanson wrote the screenplay. “Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales” releases in U.S. theaters on July 7, 2017.

• Alan Horn took the stage again to present the Lucasfilm slate and timeline to the D23 EXPO fans. Horn told the audience that there were only 124 days to the release of Episode VII, “Star Wars: The Force Awakens,” on December 18, 2015. Touching on “Star Wars: Episode VIII,” Horn reminded the audience that Rian Johnson will be directing the film slated for release on May 26, 2017 and announced that Colin Trevorrow (“Jurassic World”) has signed on to direct “Star Wars: Episode IX,” which is scheduled for release in 2019.

Moving on to the new Star Wars stories series, Horn touched on the “Untitled Han Solo” stand-alone film, slated for release on May 25, 2018. The film will be directed by Christopher Miller & Phil Lord, with Lawrence Kasdan and his son Jon Kasdan writing the screenplay.

• Horn announced the cast for “Rogue One,” the first of the standalone Star Wars stories to hit the big screen, Principal photography has already started. Gareth Edwards (“Godzilla,” “Monsters”) is directing “Rogue One,” which tells the story of resistance fighters who have united to steal plans to the dreaded Death Star.

The cast includes Felicity Jones, who was nominated for an Academy Award® for her leading role in “The Theory of Everything”; Diego Luna, who was featured in 2008’s Oscar®-winning “Milk”and the critically acclaimed “Killing Them Softly”; Ben Mendelsohn, recently nominated for an Emmy® for his leading role in “Bloodline” and co-starring in the upcoming “Mississippi Grind”; Donnie Yen, Hong Kong action star and martial artist who starred in “Ip Man” and “Blade II”; Jiang Wen, who co-wrote, produced, directed and starred in the award-winning “Let the Bullets Fly” and “Devils on the Doorstep”; Forest Whitaker, recently featured in the critically-acclaimed Lee Daniels’ “The Butler” and winner of an Academy Award® for his leading role in 2006’s “The Last King of Scotland”; Mads Mikkelsen, who starred in “The Hunt” and was the memorable villain from 2006’s “Casino Royale”; Alan Tudyk, who plays a performance-capture character in “Rogue One,” stars in the soon-to-be-released “Con Man” series and “Trumbo,” which releases this November; and Riz Ahmed, who was recently featured in “Nightcrawler” and starred in the BAFTA-winning film “Four Lions.”

The film is produced by Kathleen Kennedy and is slated for a December 16, 2016 release.

• “Star Wars: The Force Awakens” ended the live-action presentation as J.J. Abrams introduced stars John Boyega, Daisy Ridley, Oscar Isaac and Lupita Nyong’o. The crowd cheered when John Boyega announced that everyone there would get a Drew Struzan D23 EXPO commemorative poster to take home. Harrison Ford, who is reprising his role as Han Solo, joined Abrams on stage to wild applause.

“Star Wars: The Force Awakens” stars Harrison Ford, Mark Hamill, Carrie Fisher, Adam Driver, Daisy Ridley, John Boyega, Oscar Isaac, Lupita Nyong’o, Andy Serkis, Domhnall Gleeson, Anthony Daniels, Peter Mayhew and Max Von Sydow. Kathleen Kennedy, J.J. Abrams and Bryan Burk are producing with Tommy Harper and Jason McGatlin serving as executive producers. The screenplay is by J.J. Abrams & Lawrence Kasdan. “Star Wars: The Force Awakens” releases in U.S. theaters on December 18, 2015.

Other Star Wars-related announcements at D23 Expo were four Star Wars-design Visa credit cards from Disney which unlock special Star Wars related perks from Disney and Chase and Disneyland and Disney World will have major expansions to include a specifically Star Wars-themed lands. These will be the largest single themed land expansions, requiring 14 acres each. The plans include the creation of a never before seen plant and a remote trading port.

The Star Wars-themed park will have two signature attractions: a battle experience and one that puts guests behind the controls of the Millennium Falcon.

The partnership between Disney and Lucasfilm dates back to 1987, when the Star Tours attraction opened at Disneyland. The attraction was then redesigned, emerging as “Star Tours – The Adventures Continue” in 2011 and featuring more than 50 different story outcomes and the possibility to visit five different planets.

Source:: http://www.rogerebert.com/balder-and-dash/marvel-star-wars-highlights-and-more-from-d23

      

As documentaries become an even more prominent part of the
home viewing experience, it makes sense that a group of talented writers like
Seth Meyers, Bill Hader and Fred Armisen would find a comedic approach to the
art form. With more and more people watching non-fiction filmmaking via Netflix
and films like “Life Itself,” “Citizenfour,” “20 Feet From Stardom,” “Amy,” “The
Look of Silence,” and many more becoming national talking points, the time is
right to poke a little fun at some of the most famous documentaries, and the
general clichés and oft-used tricks of the form. Documentaries may not seem the
easiest targets for spoofing, but Armisen has proven his sense of humor and wit
on “Portlandia” and “Saturday Night Live” is not exactly traditional, while
Hader is one of the smartest comedians in the history of Lorne Michaels’
cultural phenomenon. I’ve seen three episodes of their “Documentary Now!,”
starting this Thursday, August 20th, on IFC. I can’t wait to see
more.

“Documentary Now!” is structured as a PBS-style look back at
the history of documentary movies hosted by Helen Mirren. To celebrate the
program’s fake 50th anniversary, Mirren is introducing clips from
some of the most famous fake documentaries of all time. The premiere takes aim
at a relatively easy target but does so with witty, unexpected style. Directly
spoofing Albert and David Maysles “Grey Gardens,” Armisen and Hader play Big
and Little Vivie, an eccentric old pair who live in a dilapidated mansion in
the faux-doc “Sandy Passage” by The Fein Brothers. What starts as a riff on the
eccentricities of the real movie—Hader is absolutely hysterical in the way he
slowly allows a menacing side into his first-quirky character until “Sandy
Passage” becomes something more like “The Blair Witch Project” than “Grey
Gardens.” He also nails the real Little Evie’s need for attention. Few actors
could get so much mileage out of a line as simple as “Do you want to watch me eat?”

The premiere of “Documentary Now!” is very funny, but I’m
surprised and happy to report that the follow-up episode next week is even
funnier, taking dead, clever aim at the “Vice” series of you-are-there
documentary programs on HBO in the form of a fake show called “Dronez.” Jack
Black stars as the host/owner of “Dronez,” introducing this dude-bro approach
to documentary filmmaking with a story called “The Search for El Chingon,” in
which a pair of remarkably naïve but cocky reporters (Hader & Armisen) try
to track down a Mexican drug lord. The Dronez reporters complete lack of
understanding of what’s actually happening in the drug-war-torn part of the
world is not just funny, it’s rather insightful into the general failure of
most You-Are-There docs, which seek to recreate dangerous situations without
offering any research or commentary about them.

In the final episode of “Documentary Now!” made available to
press, the crew takes an entirely unexpected and also hilarious angle, spoofing
the nature documentaries of the early days of film by “revealing” the true
story of the fake “Kunuk the Hunter,” a famous doc from 1922 that introduced
the white world to Eskimos. Of course, most of it was fake. Kunuk (played in a bit
of silent-film glory by Armisen) was the dumbest Eskimo in the camp, and the
only one willing to be manipulated by a filmmaker played by John Slattery of “Mad
Men.” The final act twist, in which it’s revealed Kunuk may have actually been
a hell of a filmmaker, is really really clever.

That’s the word I kept thinking of in relation
to “Documentary Now!”—clever. This is a funny, smart comedy for fans of
documentaries or even just those who wish they had more time to watch non-fiction
filmmaking. In fact, “Documentary Now!” is so good that it should spark more
interest in the very art form it satirizes but also clearly loves, which I think will make Hader, Armisen,
and Meyers very happy.

Source:: http://www.rogerebert.com/demanders/bill-hader-fred-armisen-star-in-ifcs-hysterical-documentary-now