Fox -
Walt Disney’s (DIS)
ABC is set to become the first
broadcast network to provide live
online streaming of its shows.
Disney said live streaming, both
online and on a corresponding WATCH
ABC mobile app, will be available to
viewers of ABC’s New York and
Philadelphia networks from May 14
until the end of June. WATCH ABC
will then go live for all networks
by the end of the summer.
On July 1, the WATCH ABC service
will only be open to subscribers of
cable, satellite and other
television subscription services
that have agreements with ABC to
allow live streaming for the New
York and Philadelphia networks.
Later in the summer, Disney plans
to allow authenticated subscribers
in the Los Angeles, Chicago, San
Francisco, Houston, Raleigh-Durham
and Fresno, Calif., markets to
access live streaming.
Disney also came to an agreement
with Hearst Television, which owns
13 ABC affiliates such as Boston,
Kansas City and Pittsburgh. The two
companies said WATCH ABC will be
made available for those networks
“in the coming months.”
The app will initially be
available for the Amazon.com (AMZN)
Kindle Fire and Apple’s (AAPL)
iPhone and iPad devices, while
Samsung Galaxy tablets will be added
later this summer.
Online and mobile users will have
access to on-demand programs in
addition to live shows.
Competing networks may soon
follow Disney, which already has
similar offerings such as WATCH ESPN
and WATCH Disney Channel, as viewers
increasingly turn to the Web and
mobile devices to watch TV programs.
CBS (CBS)
in April made an investment in
Syncbak, a company that provides
online streaming capabilities for
local television stations.
Shares of Disney were down 9
cents at $67.11 in early morning
trading Monday.
Mercury News - Marin filmmaker
Brenda Chapman, who won an Oscar for
writing and co-directing the
animated feature "Brave," blasted
Disney's sexy makeover of her
movie's feisty heroine, Merida, as
"a blatantly sexist marketing move
based on money."
Chapman, a Mill Valley resident,
modeled the headstrong Merida on her
13-year-old daughter, Emma, creating
her as a role model for little
girls.
In an email to the Independent
Journal on Saturday, she said she
has given Bob Iger, president of
Walt Disney International, "a piece
of my mind" for the entertainment
giant's decision to glamorize the
tomboy character she envisioned.
"There is an irresponsibility to
this decision that is appalling for
women and young girls," she said,
writing from Chile, where she has
been on business. "Disney marketing
and the powers that be that allow
them to do such things should be
ashamed of themselves."
Disney crowned Merida its 11th
princess on Saturday, but ignited a
firestorm of protest with a
corporate makeover of Chapman's
original rendering of the character,
giving her a Barbie doll waist,
sultry eyes and transforming her
wild red locks into glamorous
flowing tresses. The new image takes
away Merida's trusty bow and arrow,
a symbol of her strength and
independence, and turns her from a
girl to a young woman dressed in an
off-the-shoulder version of the
provocative, glitzy gown she hated
in the movie.
"I think it's atrocious what they
have done to Merida,"
Chapman fumed. "When little girls
say they like it because it's more
sparkly, that's all fine and good
but, subconsciously, they are
soaking in the sexy 'come hither'
look and the skinny aspect of the
new version. It's horrible! Merida
was created to break that mold -- to
give young girls a better, stronger
role model, a more attainable role
model, something of substance, not
just a pretty face that waits around
for romance."
Chapman, the first woman to win
an Academy Award for an animated
feature, said she has added her name
to a petition with more than 50,000
signatures that has gone viral on
the female empowerment website "A
Mighty Girl," joining other mothers
outraged by Disney's sexualization
of her headstrong young Scottish
heroine, an expert archer with a
head of wild, curly red hair and a
mind of her own.
Signers variously described the
new Merida as "vapid," "arm candy,"
"unrealistic" and "vacant looking."
In an official statement to
Yahoo! Shine, a Disney spokesperson
said, "Merida exemplifies what it
means to be a Disney Princess
through being brave, passionate, and
confident and she remains the same
strong and determined Merida from
the movie whose inner qualities have
inspired moms and daughters around
the world."
Chapman begs to differ. In basing
Merida on her teenage daughter, then
a student at Mill Valley Middle
School, she said she wanted the
movie to be "a contemporary fairy
tale" that resonates with today's
working mothers and daughters. Her
character's image as a different
kind of princess turned out to be
hugely successful, grossing more
than $550 million, winning an Oscar,
a Golden Globe and the Bafta Award
from the British Academy of Film and
Television Arts.
"They have been handed an
opportunity on a silver platter to
give their consumers something of
more substance and quality -- THAT
WILL STILL SELL -- and they have a
total disregard for it in the name
of their narrow minded view of what
will make money," Chapman wrote. "I
forget that Disney's goal is to make
money without concern for integrity.
Silly me."
Orlando Sentinel - Barbara Walters
says her retirement next summer is
her decision, and she is "perfectly
healthy."
The pioneering
newswoman, who is 83, played
highlights of her career on Monday's
edition of "The View." Then she
said: "It has been an absolutely
joyful, rewarding, challenging,
fascinating and occasionally bumpy
ride. I wouldn’t change a thing."
Walters seemed
stunned to realize that she has been
on television for more than 50
years, from "Today" to ABC's evening
news to "20/20," specials and "The
View." After she retires, she said
she will continue to produce "The
View" and return for what she called
"special occasions."
Robert Iger,
chairman of the Walt Disney Co., was
in the audience for the
announcement. Disney owns ABC.
Iger recalled
that he and Walters first met in
1976, when he was a production
assistant and he delivered something
to her dressing room.
"From then on, you called me Jim.
My name is Bob," he said.
Walters noted
that Iger will retire in 2015 and
asked what they would do. He
suggested they go on ABC's "Dancing
With the Stars."
Then Iger
briefly took over the conversation.
"If I can say one thing," he
started. "I run the company. I guess
I can."
He applauded
Walters' "singular" success in
television and said that no one has
come close to the volume, breadth
and quality of her work.
"Thank you,
Jim," Walters replied with a
comedian's skill.
New York Mayor
Michael Bloomberg was a surprise
guest on "The View" and called
Walters his idol.
But Walters
resisted getting swept up in the
emotion. "I'm not gone yet. I still
have another year to go," she said.
Artist Kathyrn Hudson imagines what
it would be like if some of your
favorite Disney characters went to
the high school dance.
Belle and The Beast are the most
adorable; Tiana and Prince Naveen
from The Princess and the Frog
are the best looking and most
romantic; Alice has the coolest
dress; and Snow White — with
seven dates — is the most
scandalous.
DisneyParks Blog - Hundreds of
rubber ducks raced around the world
for a cause at the 5th annual “it’s
a small world” duck race! Cast
members sponsored and decorated the
ducks to raise more than $1,800 for
Make-A-Wish Orange County and the
Inland Empire before Disneyland park
opened for the day.
The cast
fundraiser carries forward the
attraction’s legacy of supporting
children, dating back to the
1964-1965 New York World’s Fair when
it was created in honor of the
United Nations Children’s Fund
(UNICEF).
While cast members waited
anxiously to see which rubber duck
would race through “it’s a small
world” fastest, we sent along our
camera to capture the journey and
winners!
DisneyParks Blog - This week, The
Force is indeed strong at Tokyo
Disneyland with the opening of the
updated Star Tours: The Adventures
Continue. The attraction had been
closed for more than a year while
Imagineers were busy adding new
stories and adventures. Like the
attractions at Disneyland park and
Disney’s Hollywood Studios, guests
now have the opportunity to
experience more than 50 different
story combinations and experience
these adventures in dazzling 3D.
The biggest changes between the U.S.
and Tokyo attractions are in the
queue areas themselves. In the Droid
Room of the Tokyo Disneyland
attraction, if you look carefully,
you may discover a reference to a
classic Disney Parks attraction. Any
guesses as to what this attraction
pays homage to?
I’d also like to share a video
from our friends at Walt Disney
Imagineering, who updated the Tokyo
Disneyland Star Tours attraction, so
you can see what other changes they
made to the Arrival Hall – a room we
don’t have in either Anaheim or
Orlando.
USA Today - Walt Disney said Tuesday
its quarterly profit soared 32% on
improving movie studio finances,
higher advertising rates at ESPN and
longer stays at its theme park
resorts.
The Burbank, Calif.-based media
giant said Tuesday its net income
for the fiscal second quarter rose
32% from a year ago to $1.51 billion
as customer demand grew for nearly
all of its various business lines.
Earnings per share for the
quarter were 83 cents for the three
months ending March 30 vs. 63 cents
in the year-ago period. Its adjusted
earnings per share of 79 cents — up
36%, excluding special items — beat
Wall Street expectations of 77
cents, according to Thomson Reuters.
Revenue for the quarter rose 10%
to $10.55 billion.
"Our results reflect our
successful strategy, the strength of
our brands and the value of our
high-quality creative content," CEO
Robert Iger said in a statement.
All of Disney's operating units,
except Interactive, reported
year-over-year profit gains. But the
Interactive unit, which runs gaming
and digital properties, did see its
operating loss narrow 23% to $54
million on revenue of $194 million.
Disney said Monday that it has
agreed to develop new Star Wars
video games with Electronic Arts.
Disney's theme parks and resorts
unit reported the biggest profit
growth. With tourists staying more
nights at its Disney resorts and the
addition of the Disney Fantasy
cruise ship, which launched in March
2012, the unit's profit rose 73% to
$383 million. A jump in prices for
food and drinks and entrance tickets
also pushed average guest spending
higher, resulting in a 14% increase
in the unit's revenue to $3.3
billion.
Disney's cable and broadcast
networks — including ABC and ESPN —
remain its largest revenue
generators. The unit's earnings were
up 8% to $1.86 billion, as revenue
rose 6% to $4.96 billion.
Advertising-rate increases at
ESPN helped offset a 40% drop in the
operating income of its broadcasting
business, which includes ABC. Higher
prime-time programming costs and a
drop in advertising revenue at ABC
contributed to the decline.
Disney's movie studio business
returned to profitability on the
strong performance of recently
released movies Oz the Great and
Powerful and Wreck-it Ralph.
The studio's tidings of good
fortune could continue into the
current quarter. Iron Man 3,
from Disney's Marvel Studios,
grossed $174.1 million in the U.S.
in its first weekend of release. The
movie, starring Robert Downey Jr.,
has brought in $678.9 million
worldwide in just 10 days, according
to Hollywood.com.
Last year's big-name release —
John Carter, a sci-fi movie set
on Mars — lost $200 million and cost
then-studio chief Rich Ross his job.
"The Disney machine is churning
out the benefits which come from
courageous capital investments in
the difficult stretch from 2008 to
2011," William Smead, CEO of Smead
Capital Management, a shareholder in
Seattle, told Bloomberg News
DisneyParks Blog - Here’s a list of
scheduled celebrities for this
year’s Force-filled fan fest:
Weekend I (May 17–19)
Ray Park (Darth Maul – Star Wars:
Episode I The Phantom Menace)
Jeremy Bulloch (Boba Fett – Star
Wars: Episode V The Empire
Strikes Back and Star Wars:
Episode VI Return of the Jedi)
Dee Bradley Baker (voice of Captain
Rex – Star Wars: The Clone Wars)
Weekend II (May 24-26)
Ray Park (Darth Maul – Star Wars:
Episode I The Phantom Menace)
Warwick Davis (Wicket the Ewok –
Star Wars: Episode VI
Return of the Jedi)
Jim Cummings (voice of Hondo Ohnaka
– Star Wars: The Clone Wars)
Weekend III (May 31 –
June 2)
Warwick Davis (Wicket the Ewok –
Star Wars: Episode VI
Return of the Jedi)
Tim Rose (Admiral Ackbar – Star
Wars: Episode VI Return of
the Jedi)
Sam Witwer (voice of Darth Maul –
Star Wars: The Clone Wars)
Weekend IV(June 7-9)
Billy Dee Williams (Lando Calrissian
– Star Wars: Episode V
The Empire Strikes Back and
Star Wars: Episode VI
Return of the Jedi)
Peter Mayhew (Chewbacca – Star
Wars: Episode IV A New Hope,
Star Wars: Episode V
The Empire Strikes Back,
Star Wars: Episode VI
Return of the Jedi and Star
Wars: Episode III Revenge
of the Sith
Tom Kane (voice of Yoda – Star
Wars: The Clone Wars)
Also new this year is a photo
opportunity with a “life-size”
rancor. The giant beast, which was
Jabba the Hutt’s prized pet in
Star Wars: Episode VI
Return of the Jedi, will be on
display during the event. The
handcrafted replica is 17 feet long
and weighs more than 700 pounds. The
reptomammal sculpture is
well-traveled — it’s a popular piece
at Star Wars events around
the globe and will make its way to
our park for Star Wars
Weekends.
A trio of specialty “one-man
shows” will be presented this year,
giving guests a peek into the on-
and off-screen worlds of three
Star Wars celebrities — James
Arnold Taylor, Ray Park and Warwick
Davis.
“Obi-Wan & Beyond” (each
event day) stars James Arnold
Taylor. James takes audiences on
a journey into his wonderful
world of voice acting.
“Visit to the Maul”
(Weekends I and II) features Ray
Park. Guests can see a
demonstration of amazing martial
arts skills by the actor who
portrayed Darth Maul on the
silver screen.
“An Ewok’s Tale – my short
story” (Weekends II and III)
stars Warwick Davis. Guests get
a unique look into the
fascinating world of this
Star Wars legend.
As you plan your visit to
Star Wars Weekends, be aware
that many of the behind-the-scenes
shows reach capacity quickly, so
arrive early. Also, you’ll want to
arrive early to the park if you
would like to get a celebrity
autograph.
LA Times - If the dead could speak,
they probably wouldn't have been
heard over the burst of virtual
shouting and howling Walt Disney Co.
drew for attempting to trademark "Dia
de los Muertos" -- a bid it has
since dropped.
The company filed 10
applications with the U.S.
Patent and Trademark Office for
“Dia de los Muertos,” including
applications pertaining to toys,
cereals and jewelry. The May 1
filings came in anticipation of
an untitled movie about the
Mexican holiday, known in
English as Day of the Dead.
“As we have previously
announced, Disney-Pixar is
developing an animated feature
inspired by the Mexican holiday
Día de los Muertos,” a studio
spokesperson said in a
statement.
“Disney’s trademark filing
was intended to protect any
potential title for our film and
related activities. It has since
been determined that the title
of the film will change and
therefore we are withdrawing our
trademark filing.”
The centuries-old holiday,
with roots in indigenous Aztec
culture, honors the dead by
building altars, decorating
gravesites and holding
processions. The Day of the Dead
is not just observed in Mexico,
but other parts of Latin
America, Europe and the United
States.
A petition to stop Walt
Disney Co. from trademarking
“Dia de los Muertos” went up on
change.org Tuesday, a day
after the news reported the
filings. As of Wednesday morning
it had 19,500 signatures.
“Our spiritual traditions are
for everyone, not for companies
like Walt Disney to trademark
and exploit,” wrote Grace Sesma,
the petition’s creator. “I am
deeply offended and dismayed
that a family-oriented company
like Walt Disney would seek to
own the rights to something that
is the rightful heritage of the
people of Mexico.”
“This is a sacred tradition.
It's NOT FOR SALE,” wrote
Consuelo Alba, of Watsonville,
Calif.
The trademark application was
"odd" to Evonne Gallardo,
executive director of the Boyle
Heights art center Self Help
Graphics. The center puts on one
of the largest Day of the Dead
celebrations in Los Angeles and
has been sponsored by the Walt
Disney Co.
"The right thing to do is not
to attempt to trademark a
cultural and spiritual
celebration," Gallardo said. "I
have yet to see a trademark on
Christmas or Hanukkah."
It's not the first time Walt
Disney Co. drew criticism for a
trademark application. In 2011
it withdrew its application to
trademark "Seal Team 6," the
name of the military unit that
tracked and killed Osama bin
Laden. Less than a week after
the Navy SEAL team's successful
mission, Disney moved to patent
with plans to produce toys and
entertainment.
After the Navy filed its own
trademark claim, Disney bailed
out.
Yahoo - The world has given
corporate chiefs plenty of
excuses to stay cautious and
focus inward over the past
several years – and most CEOs
have used these excuses as
permission to do just that.
Most corporate leaders have
only held their jobs in times of
threat and turmoil, from credit
meltdown to severe global
recession to sovereign-debt
crises and radical technological
change.
As a result, despite stock
prices and profit margins at
record highs, CEOs as a group
have become conditioned to play
defense. They have hoarded cash,
using it mostly to buy back
shares or increase dividends,
while generally shunning bold
investments or expansionary deal
making.
Bob Iger also faced an
onslaught of worldwide economic
tumult and wrenching
technological threats to his
business since taking over as
CEO of Walt Disney Co. (DIS) in
late 2005.
Yet instead of treading
gingerly, Iger has aggressively
spent to expand Disney parks,
launched a cruise line and spent
heavily and opportunistically to
purchase three of the most
distinctive entertainment
franchises ever created: Pixar,
Marvel and Lucasfilm’s Star
Wars.
Meantime, Iger (who sits on
Apple Inc.’s (AAPL) board) has
been a media industry leader in
adapting to new
digital-distribution approaches
for Disney content, while
pragmatically managing the
secular decline in its ABC
broadcasting business.
There is a good deal of irony
in Iger’s expansionary tenure at
Disney. When he succeeded
Michael Eisner, the polarizing
Hollywood character, he was
considered a safe “Mr. Inside”
who was a competent operator and
an unobjectionable personality.
Yet Iger quickly refocused
the company on its core
“franchise” brands, those
identifiably, quintessentially
Disney-ish properties that
resonate with customers and can
be leveraged across multiple
product platforms. And when
one-of-a-kind intellectual
properties became available,
Iger had the resolve and risk
appetite to buy them, rather
than agonizing over whether they
would have pleased Uncle Walt.
He bought Pixar for $7.4
billion in 2006, gaining
unmatched creative resources as
well as the close counsel of
Pixar founder Steve Jobs (whose
estate is Disney’s single
largest shareholder). He
followed it in 2009 with the $4
billion Marvel deal. By last
year, Iger had clearly made
Disney the preferred home for
Star Wars, once creator George
Lucas was ready to cash out.
(Lucas agreed to sell his
Lucasfilm empire to Disney for
$4 billion last November).
With Pixar and Marvel,
critics were quick to call the
acquisitions expensive and
risky, with unclear financial
payoffs that would require many
future hit movies. Yet Pixar and
Marvel have paid off by most any
measure, most recently with last
weekend’s monster opening for
Marvel’s Iron Man 3.
Meantime, with ESPN’s
cable-fee machine humming along,
Iger gave the network a free
hand to invade the rest of the
TV dial with new channels and
spend aggressively for
sports-programming rights. He
led a controversial but
ultimately successful renovation
and expansion of the
once-disappointing California
Adventure theme park, launched
cruise lines to further capture
family loyalties and is
overseeing the development of
the five-year, 1,000-acre, $4
billion Shanghai Disneyland.
Under Iger, Disney’s
per-share dividend has nearly
quadrupled and the company has
bought back some $3 billion a
year or more in stock in recent
years. Disney's profitable core
media and theme-park operations
earn enough cash to allow Iger
to invest for the future and
share cash with investors.
And none of this has made
Iger immune from criticism or
stumbles. There was a botched
appointment of studio chief, the
expensive John Carter movie
debacle, complaints at times
about the subpar profitability
of the parks, some lousy
network-TV programming and dry
spells in Disney Channel show
development. Yet none of it has
deterred Iger from strengthening
the brands and investing in new
ones when opportunities arise.
The market approves: Since Iger
took over, Disney shares are up
180%, versus about 40% for the
Standard & Poor’s 500 Index.
DisneyParks Blog - “So why do you
run?” That is the question most
often asked to runners by
non-runners. “Why do you get up
before dawn, oftentimes in miserable
weather, to go do something that
quite frankly does not look
enjoyable?”
This is a question that is not
lost on runners. In fact one of my
favorite running shirts has
emblazoned across the back, “My
Sport is Your Sport’s Punishment” –
a not so gentle nod to the bevy of
coaches who have ever uttered the
phrase “Gimme a lap!”
So why do we run? There are as
many reasons as runners – “So I can
eat what I want,” “To stay in
shape,” “To clear my mind” – but
there is one reason that seems to
rise to the top among all our
runDisney runners…”we run for
the bling!” You see, there is
nothing so rewarding as finishing a
race and having a volunteer drape a
beautifully crafted Disney medal
around your neck. For that moment
you feel as though you are an
Olympian, and regardless of what
place you’ve finished, you have
earned that gold.
So with that said, I am pleased
to reveal our latest entries into
the pantheon of runDisney
race medals: The 2013 Disneyland
Half Marathon, Disneyland 10K,
Disneyland Family Fun Run 5K and the
Dumbo Double Dare medals, all
beautifully designed to say, “Here’s
why I run.”
Orlando
Sentinel - Chris Dastou was playing
with his children in a swimming pool
on the Disney Fantasy cruise ship
when he felt something brush against
his feet.
Assuming it was his 6-year-old
son, Dastou hooked a foot around the
little body and lifted it out of the
5-foot-3-inch-deep water.
To his shock and horror, Dastou
found himself cradling a limp,
4-year-old stranger.
He carried Chase Lykken to the side
of the Donald family pool and laid
the boy on his back. The child's
skin was blue, waxy and pale. He
wasn't breathing.
"I started screaming for help,
and everybody rushed over and
grabbed him and started to help
out," recalled Dastou, 35, manager
of a car dealership near Atlanta.
Immediately, dozens of passengers
clustered around Chase, a Minnesota
boy who suffered severe brain damage
when he nearly drowned March 30 on
the ship docked at Port Canaveral, a
police report obtained by the
Orlando Sentinel on Tuesday shows.
Chase Christopher Lykken was
deprived of oxygen for up to six
minutes, Port Canaveral police
determined.
He was on life support at Arnold
Palmer Hospital for Children in
Orlando before being transferred
last month to Gillette Children's
Specialty Healthcare, a St. Paul
hospital for kids with disabilities.
His prognosis is "most likely poor,"
a doctor for a child-protection team
in Orlando concluded.
"Chase is described as being in a
vegetative state," the doctor wrote
April 9 in a report submitted to the
Florida Department of Children and
Families.
Investigators concluded Chase was
inadequately supervised, but there
was no criminal intent, police said.
They called the incident a "tragic
accident."
Police could not determine how
Chase slipped away and landed in the
pool. An 8-year-old South Carolina
girl told investigators she saw
Chase and another boy wrestle near
the pool and fall in, but neither
video nor other witnesses
corroborated her account.
Ship video shows the Lykken
(pronounced LICK-un) family on the
Mickey pool deck at 3:04 p.m. Seven
minutes later, parents Christopher
and Lisa Lykken appear to be looking
for someone, the report states.
At 3:12 p.m., Chase was pulled
from the Donald pool, where signs
warn passengers that no lifeguard is
on duty. The pools are next to each
other, a Disney spokeswoman said.
The parents told officers they
lost sight of Chase but assumed he
was at the pool with his 9-year-old
brother, Tanner, and 7-year-old
sister, Ava. Lisa Lykken, 43, looked
for Chase in the Mickey and Donald
pools, then heard Tanner yell and
saw someone performing
cardiopulmonary resuscitation on
Chase, according to the report.
Chase's parents, who live in
Prior Lake, about 25 miles south of
Minneapolis, have not granted media
interviews. They keep friends,
family and well-wishers apprised in
painstaking detail on a Facebook
page dedicated to Chase and on
caringbridge.org.
There, readers can see Chase in
happier times: on the first day of
preschool; catching a fish; posing
with his siblings and mugging for
the camera, his arms aloft and fists
clenched.
Despite the odds, the family
hopes for a miracle and expresses
gratitude for the smallest signs of
progress. Many of the posts end
with, "God is good."
The Lykkens have the support of
nearly 6,700 people who had liked
the Facebook page by Tuesday. Many
said they pray for his recovery.
Some have adopted the red, white and
blue Captain America shield logo as
their profile picture to show
solidarity with the blond,
brown-eyed boy who loved to dress as
the comic-book superhero.
A red, $5 "CHASE'S WARRIORS"
bracelet to raise money for his care
was so popular that the initial
shipment sold out.
The medical news is grim,
however. Chase is breathing on his
own but is being fed through a tube,
according to posts. The areas of his
brain that control motor skills,
basic functions such as heart and
respiratory rates, temperature, the
sleep-wake cycle and eyesight were
damaged.
"It's just a very sad situation,"
said Dastou, the man who pulled
Chase from the water. "It was
unbelievable what happened. Nobody
would think anything like that would
happen."
USA Today - Never underestimate the
power of the Force.
Disney has announced a multi-year
deal with Electronic Arts that
grants the video game publisher
rights to develop and publish video
games based on the classic
science-fiction franchise Star
Wars. Financial terms were not
disclosed.
EA would have rights to develop
Star Wars titles for a "core
gaming audience" across all
interactive platforms, says a joint
statement from both companies.
Disney would retain the right to
create certain games for mobile,
social, tablet and online.
"Every developer dreams of
creating games for the Star Wars
universe," says Frank Gibeau,
president of EA Labels, in a
statement.
Gibeau says studios DICE (Battlefield),
Visceral Games (Dead Space)
and BioWare (Mass Effect)
will all develop Star Wars
titles. BioWare already has
experience with the Star Wars
universe through massively
multiplayer online titles such as
Knights of the Old Republic and
The Old Republic.
"The new experiences we create
may borrow from films, but the games
will be entirely original with all
new stories and gameplay," says
Gibeau.
The announcement comes one month
after Disney shut down longtime
studio LucasArts in favor of a
licensing model involving Star Wars
and other properties.
Several projects, including the
action title Star Wars 1313,
had been halted, according to a
LucasFilm representative.
Yahoo - When Chief Executive Robert
Iger opens the Walt Disney Co. (DIS)
post-earnings conference call to
questions late Tuesday, he won’t be
asked again to justify the $4
billion he spent in 2009 to acquire
Marvel Entertainment. Or, at least,
he shouldn’t be.
The skyscraping $175 million
domestic box-office take for the
opening weekend of "Iron Man 3" was
exceeded only by the previous
Disney-Marvel release "The
Avengers," which went on to collect
$1.5 billion in ticket sales
globally.
The latest "Iron Man" installment
had already pulled in as much
overseas as it is estimated to have
grossed in its initial North
American weekend in theaters. At its
current trajectory, the latest
Robert Downey Jr.-Gwyneth Paltrow
save-the-world-through-cool-technology
movie should reach $1 billion in
global box office.
"Iron Man 3" is the final
Marvel-inspired film covered under a
pre-existing distribution agreement
with Viacom Inc.’s (VIAB) Paramount
Pictures – an arrangement that Iger
wanted to get past urgently enough
that he agreed to pay Paramount a
guaranteed fee in 2010 for "The
Avengers" and "Iron Man 3" so Disney
could take control of both films’
marketing.
A big payday
Paramount was in line to earn 8%
of worldwide gross for distributing"The Avengers"'and 9%
for "Iron Man 3." Disney
agreed to buy Paramount out of the
deal for $115 million, which was
cast as an advance on those
distribution fees, with Paramount
earning its full 8% and 9% fee if
box-office sales exceed threshold
levels. If"Iron Man 3"
does end upearning $1
billion, Paramount will get $90
million in total, or $32.5 million
more than the minimum guarantee
implied in the buyout deal, by one
analyst's estimate.
Disney is only too happy to pay
this fee, because it means "Iron Man
3" is a larger-than-anticipated
blockbuster and it gives the company
a head start in embedding Marvel
into its distribution platform. This
also hands Disney full marketing
control and potential cost synergies
with other releases.
Given the runaway success of the
"Iron Man" franchise – based on what
was once considered a marginal
comic-book hero – it’s remarkable
that Iger took a bit of heat from
Wall Street for the price he paid
for Marvel.
Because "Spider-Man" is
spoken-for under a long-term deal
with Sony Corp.'s (SNE) Sony
Pictures, analysts were unsure
Marvel promised enough bankable
characters around which to base
years-long slates of movies and
their attendant merchandise tie-ins.
"The Avengers" and "Iron Man" have
silenced the doubters. On the way
are another "Thor" picture and "The
Avengers 2," which will belong
entirely to Disney.
Farwell to the "boy
problem"
The Marvel deal – along with last
year’s $4 billion acquisition of
Star Wars creator Lucasfilm and the
endurance of the "Cars" franchise –
has also put to rest what used to be
considered Disney’s “boy problem.”
The enormous success beginning in
the 1990s of Disney’s Princesses
line of characters, along with
Disney Channel hits such as “Hannah
Montana,” left the company’s
business skewed in the direction of
young girls.
Iger, who is set to retire as CEO
in 2015, leaves the entertainment
divisions far more balanced by
customer gender, while its cable
business all but owns male eyeballs
through its ESPN networks.
All this, of course, is well
understood by the market, and Disney
faces a relatively high bar to clear
when reporting its fiscal
second-quarter results. The Wall
Street consensus for per-share
earnings is 77 cents a share, up
from 75 cents forecast for the
quarter at the start of the year.
Estimize.com, which crowd-sources
estimates from buy-side
professionals and other investors,
and has tended to be more accurate
than sell-side consensus, is showing
an 80-cent expectation.
Disney shares, meantime, are at
an all-time high. And at above
18-times anticipated 2013 profits,
shares are valued at a premium to
Disney's Big Media peers, which
themselves trade at rich multiples
of earnings after years of market
outperformance. Disney is probably
the highest-quality media giant
based on its cable-business mix and
the irreproducible nature of its
character set.
Along with peers such as Time
Warner Inc. (TWX), Disney is proving
the value of proprietary content,
showing an ability to get paid for
it in a digital world and pursuing
the disciplined use of capital. All
this is now taken for granted by
investors, who on Tuesday will no
doubt grasp for insights about ESPN
ad-pricing and revenue recognition
rates; the fate of streaming-service
Hulu.com (partly owned by Disney);
and the outlook for turning around
the video-game business.
Even if they won’t grill Iger on
the prudence of the Marvel deal,
investors will certainly need to
hear some details on Disney’s next
act in order for the stock to keep
working.
Bloomberg - “Iron Man 3” burst into
theaters with $175.3 million in U.S.
and Canadian ticket sales, giving
Walt
Disney Co. (DIS)’s Marvel
division its second straight
mega-hit to start a summer movie
season.
The opening-weekend haul for the
superhero film starring Robert
Downey Jr. was the second-biggest of
all time, behind “Marvel’s The
Avengers” in May 2012, the company
said yesterday in a statement. With
$504.8 million in international
receipts, “Iron Man 3” has collected
$680.1 million worldwide in 12 days
of release, more than either earlier
“Iron Man” generated in its entire
theater run.
The performance highlights
Disney’s multi-film, multi-prong
strategy for Marvel, acquired in
December 2009 for $4.2 billion,
according to David Hollis, executive
vice president for motion picture
distribution. He credited earlier
Marvel pictures that paved the way
with fans, characters interwoven
among movies and the marketing
muscle that Burbank,
California-based Disney, the world’s
largest entertainment company,
brings with its theme parks, TV
networks and retail stores.
“It was a very deliberate
strategy how they created the unique
overlaps and intertwined the
characters,” Hollis said in a
telephone interview. “The response
has been nothing short of
extraordinary.”
Disney’s approach has led
moviegoers to consider “Iron Man 3”
as a sequel to “The Avengers,” last
May’s superhero ensemble that took
in $1.51 billion at the global box
office, rather than as a follow-up
to “Iron Man” and “Iron Man 2,”
according to Phil Contrino, chief
analyst for BoxOffice.com.
Armored Suit
In the film, the ingenuity and
confidence of Downey’s billionaire
industrialist character, Tony Stark,
are tested after a surprise attack
destroys his laboratory and the
armored suits he uses to fight
villains. Ben Kingsley stars as The
Mandarin, an embittered genius who
gains access to advanced
technologies. Don Cheadle returns as
Stark’s friend, James Rhodes, and
Gwyneth Paltrow reprises her role as
Pepper Potts.
The success of “Iron Man 3”
should carry over to “Thor: The Dark
World,” set for release in November,
and the next “Avengers,” Hollis
said. He said the “branded
tent-pole” film strategy limits
Disney’s theatrical risk by focusing
on pictures the audience is familiar
with, and provides content for
Disney’s other divisions.
“Momentum begets momentum,”
Hollis said. “They’re all tied
together and they all will be
higher.”
In addition to “Thor” and the
planned 2015 sequel to “The
Avengers,” Disney’s Marvel slate
includes an April 2014 “Captain
America” sequel, and “Ant-Man” in
2015according to Box Office Mojo.
Summer Prospects
The strong debut for “Iron Man 3”
also gives a lift to Hollywood at
the start of summer, after an 11
percent decline in domestic ticket
sales and attendance so far this
year.
“If you can start off in May with
a gigantic film like this, you’ve
got tens of millions of people
exposed to trailers and other
materials for ‘‘World War Z,’’
‘‘After Earth’’ and so on,” said
Gitesh Pandya, chief executive
officer of Boxofficeguru.com. “It’s
a very positive indicator that we’re
going to have a very strong summer
season.’
More than 20 films are projected
to gross $100 million or more
domestically this summer, up from 12
a year earlier, according to
Bloomberg Industries research.
The lineup includes a new ‘‘Star
Trek” from
Viacom Inc. (VIAB)’s
Paramount Pictures, “Man of Steel”
and a third “Hangover” from
Time
Warner Inc. (TWX)’s Warner
Bros., and “The Wolverine,” part of
the “X-Men” series from News Corp.’s
Fox.
International Receipts
Pandya, who had expected “Iron
Man 3” to sell $165 million in
tickets this past weekend, is now
forecasting that the movie will
gross more than $400 million in
North America and $1.3 billion
worldwide, based on the opening and
favorable word of mouth. That would
put it in the top five of all time,
according to Box Office Mojo
rankings.
The movie, shot partially in
China, is on pace to do slightly
better than “The Avengers” outside
of North America, according to
Hollis. The opening day set records
in 10 countries, including Russia
and in China, where Disney and
partner DMG Entertainment released a
tailored version with more footage
with well-known local stars.
Some 55 percent of domestic “Iron
Man 3” theatergoers were over 25
years old and the single-biggest
group of attendees was couples,
according to Hollis. Family
attendance, at 27 percent, exceeded
that of “The Avengers” 24 percent,
indicating the picture had a broad
appeal, he said.
Showings at theaters that use
Imax Corp. (IMX)’s large-screen
technology have grossed almost $30
million worldwide, according to
Hollywood.com Box-Office. Optimism
for the film lifted stocks of Disney
and exhibitors last week.
Theater Spat
Imax, based in Mississauga,
Ontario, rose 1.2 percent to $27.82
on May 3 in New York.
Regal
Entertainment Group (RGC),
the largest U.S. theater operator,
slipped 0.1 percent to $18.72 after
climbing 3.5 percent on May 2.
Disney advanced 1.4 percent to
$64.80, an
all-time (DIS) high.
Expectations for “Iron Man 3”
were strong enough that Disney used
its debut to seek a bigger share of
the revenue from its movies,
prompting a public showdown that
ended just a week before the
opening. Hollis declined to discuss
details of the negotiations.
“The magnitude of a gross like
this is extraordinary for everyone’s
bottom line,” Hollis said.
Disney Chairman and CEO Robert
Iger has spent more than $15 billion
since 2006, purchasing animation
studio Pixar, comic book publisher
Marvel Entertainment, and Lucasfilm
Ltd., home of “Star Wars.”
The company has reduced the
number of movies it releases to
concentrate on well-known pictures
from those labels or familiar
content such as July’s “The Lone
Ranger,” starring Johnny Depp.
Disney Slate
The approach gives Disney the
chance to become the first studio to
generate more than $2 billion in
annual domestic ticket receipts in
2015, said Paul Sweeney, director of
North American Research at Bloomberg
Industries, citing “Star Wars” and
multiple Marvel films. The company
will also have a Pixar movie,
“Finding Dory,” and a “Pirates of
the Caribbean,” based on Box Office
Mojo’s list of upcoming releases.
“Historically, Disney’s live
action business has been a laggard,”
Sweeney said. “They chose to fix it
via acquisition. I think we are
really going to see the fruits of
this strategy in 2015.”
Weekend revenue for the top 12
films fell to $216.4 million from
$249.7 million a year earlier,
Hollywood.com said. Attendance is
down 11 percent year to date.
Forbes -
The halls in the House of Mouse, at
this point, must be paved in gold.
Walt Disney
DIS+0.63%
shares shot to still higher highs
this morning, after a blockbuster
opening weekend for the company’s
Iron Man 3 and anticipation
for quarterly figures due tomorrow.
Iron Man 3 reached truly
heroic heights at this weekend’s box
office, taking in a whopping $175.3
million. The film scored the
second-largest opening weekend ever,
behind only Disney’s other
mega-profitable comic-book movie:
last year’s The Avengers,
which took in $207.4 million during
its first weekend.
The house that Walt built is
truly a fully occupied structure
these days. There’s the cash-rich
cable business of ABC and ESPN, the
theme parks and the namesake movie
studio. In the film unit, Disney has
plans to release traditional
vehicles–Planes, coming in
August, is seen as a potential
contender to the hugely popular
Cars franchise–and to keep the
folks in spandex busy too. Disney
dubbed the next slate of superhero
features as Phase 2, with plans for
Thor: The Dark World,
Captain America: The Winter Soldier,
Guardians of the Galaxy,
The Avengers 2, Ant-Man
and possibly more.
As Phase 1 (Thor, Captain
America, Iron Man 1 and 2,
The Avengers) proved, these
films produce a meaningful result on
the company’s bottom-line. After
The Avengers hit theaters last
summer, Disney’s studio business
booked $313 million in
fiscal-third-quarter profit,
compared to just $49 million a year
earlier. (Avengers wound up
grossing more than $600 million.)
Company-wide profit increased 22.5%
to $1.84 billion, beating Wall
Street‘s forecast for $1.69 billion.
For now, investors are focused on
second-quarter results, which,
unfortunately for shareholders, will
not be buoyed by any great film.
Analysts still expect the company to
grow earnings by 22.5% to $1.4
billion. Revenue is seen rising 9%
to $10.5 billion.
Shares of Disney increased 0.7%
to $65.28 in pre-market trading. The
stock’s lengthy, lofty run–the stock
nearly doubled in three years– has
indeed pushed up its multiple.
Shares fetch 18.9 times forward
estimated earnings of $3.45 a share.
This a none-too-light premium over
media peers like Time Warner
TWX+0.71%
(16.4 times),
CBS-0.11%
(14.9) and Viacom (14.3).
Orlando Sentinel - The Disney rumor
mill was moving at hyperspeed
Saturday. The story, which got a big
push from Twitter, purported that
Walt Disney Co. CEO Robert Iger and
Lucasfilm mastermind George Lucas
would appear Saturday evening at
Disney's Hollywood Studios theme
park to make an unspecified
announcement.
OK, that could make sense on some
levels because Disney World had
designed Saturday as one of its
Limited Time Magic promotions at the
Studios, a day saluting "Star Wars"
in keeping with the growing trend
spawned from this Jedi-inspired pun:
May the Fourth Be With You. Among
the events planned were special,
end-of-night fireworks. The rumor
had Iger and Lucas speaking before
the pyrotechnics. It was a perfect
storm of Disney and "Star Wars"
enthusiasts.
Cue the speculation about the
topic: Star Wars Land at DHS?
Casting of the Episode VII movie?
Changes for the upcoming Star Wars
Weekends at the Studios? Along with
the hopes came Twitter jokes
involving Jar Jar Banks, Starbucks,
Avatarland and Duffy the Disney
Bear. Eventually, #igerwatch became
a top trending topic on Twitter.
And then what happened?
Fireworks. They lit up the sky but
(spoiler alert, spoiler alert) there
was no Iger announcement. If he was
there, he didn't address the masses.
After reality set in, most fans
took it well. "It was a trap!"
remarked several wags. That's how
2013 rumors roll, I guess.
DisneyParks Blog - I’m excited to
share that the Star Wars –
D-Tech Me experience will be
returning for Star Wars
Weekends at Disney’s Hollywood
Studios this year. The experience
will be located inside Darth’s Mall,
the highly themed merchandise
destination located in the courtyard
adjacent to Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster
Starring Aerosmith. You may recall
we first introduced the
Carbon-Freeze Me experience last
year during Star Wars Weekends. We
also introduced the experience at
Celebration VI, the ultimate
Star Wars fan event that was
held last August in Orlando,
Florida.
This year, we are bringing back
the popular “cast yourself in
Carbonite” option that was inspired
by a scene from Star Wars:
Episode V The Empire Strikes
Back. We are also delighted to
offer a new option featuring the
elite soldiers of the Galactic
Empire, the Stormtroopers.
The 10-minute experience uses the
world’s highest-resolution,
single-shot 3D face scanner created
by our Imagineering scientists with
Disney Research labs. That captured
image is later sent to a high
resolution 3D printer to create the
figurine. The completed figurine
will arrive within 7-8 weeks after
the experience if shipping
domestically (it takes a little
longer if shipping internationally).
Guests will also receive either a
Carbon-Freeze Me light-up band or a
collector button depending upon
which option they choose.
The Star Wars – D-Tech
Me experience is $99.95, plus
shipping and applicable sales tax.
To book your experience, please
call 407-WDW-TECH (407-939-8324) to
ask about availability. We will only
offer the experience during Star
Wars Weekends 2013 (May 17 –
19, May 24 – 26, May 31 – June 2,
and June 7 – 9).
Please note: Separate theme
park admission required for Disney’s
Hollywood Studios. No discounts
apply unless otherwise noted. Guests
must be at least three (3) years of
age to participate. A valid accepted
credit card number is required at
time of booking. No-shows or in the
event a reservation is cancelled
within 48 hours of scheduled
experience will result in such
credit card being charged a $25
cancellation fee. The experience,
due to its personalized nature, is
non-refundable and not eligible for
an exchange. Children must be
accompanied by an adult at least 18
years of age or older during the
entire experience. Certain
restrictions may apply. All prices,
components and information are
subject to change without notice.
Variety - European powerhouse
Studiocanal is joining forces with
Disney Nordic to roll out the
bigscreen adaptation of Jonas
Jonasson’s bestseller “The
Hundred-Year-Old Man Who Climbed Out
the Window and Disappeared.”
Disney Nordic will release the
pic across Scandinavia Dec. 25,
while TeleMunchen will distribute it
in Germany and Austria, and Wild
Bunch in Benelux.
Meanwhile, Studiocanal will roll
out the pic in France, U.K. and
Australia, and will rep it in
international market, kicking off
sales at Cannes.
Swedish up-and-comer Felix
Herngren, creator of hit comedy
skein “Solsidan,” has assembled a
cast of Swedish thesps, including
Robert Gustafsson, Mia Skaringer and
Johan Rheborg, and English thesp
Alan Ford.
Described as “quirky and utterly
unique” by Studiocanal, pic turns on
a healthy 100-year-old man, Allan
Karlsson, who escapes his nursing
home to embark on an unplanned
journey, involving, among other
surprises, a suitcase stuffed with
cash and some unpleasant criminals.
“The book is already establishing
itself as a major brand around the
world. For us as theatrical
distributors, we think we have a
winner based on what we saw so far
of the powerful film adaptation the
producers and our partners at Disney
will be delivering at the end of the
year,” said Harold Van Lier, exec VP
international distribution at
Studiocanal. “It is an incredibly
cinematic story that is very warm
and filled with feel-good humor. It
will undoubtedly be one of the major
films coming out of Scandinavia at
the end of this year.”
Added Patrick Nebout, producer at
Nice FLX Pictures, “It’s a saga with
a universal theme, a big heart and a
sense of humor that travels
perfectly, moving millions of
readers all over the world.”
The book has been published in
more than 35 countries and sold more
than 5 million copies.
Pic is produced by Henrik
Jansson-Schweizer, Nebout, Herngren
and Malte Forssell for Nice FLX
Pictures.
