Walt Disney Pictures

Disney Picks Up Untitled Space Adventure from CHRONICLE Scribe Max Landis

by Dave Trumbore    Posted: January 26th, 2012 at 6:13 pm

Walt Disney Pictures has been busy as of late: they recently landed Dan Harris (X2: X-Men United) to pen the sci-fi adventure adaptation Hover Car Racer, landed directors for both Matterhorn and Maleficent, and have secured Seth Rogen as a producer and possible star in the spy comedy, The B Team. Now we have word that the Mouse House has picked up an untitled space adventure from Max Landis, the scribe behind the upcoming superhero found-footage flick, Chronicle. The project will center on a brother and sister and their emotional journey as they undertake an adventure through space. Andrew Panay (Wedding Crashers) is set to produce. Hit the jump for more on this project.

Disney Taps G.I. JOE: THE RISE OF COBRA Scribes to Pen GARGOYLES Film

by Bill Graham    Posted: July 19th, 2011 at 5:43 pm

I know what you’re thinking. You’re wondering why anyone would want to take the very gothic and dark Disney cartoon series from the ‘90s to the silver screen. Yet, that is not what this project revolves around. Instead, screenwriters David Elliot and Paul Lovett (G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra) are the latest to take a crack at a live-action film that involves gargoyles coming to life (the film would be quite boring if they didn’t). The film is said to involve the statues watching over the cities where they are located, as architectural “guardian angels.” For more on the project, hit the jump.

Disney Acquires Romantic Comedy Pitch THE GIRLFRIEND EQUATION

by Adam Chitwood    Posted: May 31st, 2011 at 3:23 pm

Disney is currently prepping and moving forward with a romantic comedy pitch entitled The Girlfriend Equation. The pitch is based on a story recounted on Public Radio International’s This American Life. THR reports that Tim Rasmussen and Vince Di Meglio (Marmaduke) will write the screenplay for the flick. The story centers on a Harvard grad student who worked to identify and woo his soul mate through mathematical equations, so it’s like A Beautiful Mind, but for kids! Alex Ankles is overseeing the project for Panay Films.

Disney Lands Rights to Agatha Christie’s Miss Marple – UPDATE: Jennifer Garner to Produce and Star

by Jason Barr    Posted: March 28th, 2011 at 2:37 pm

In a move that is sure to excite fans of British author Agatha Christie, Disney has acquired the film rights to Christie’s senior detective, Miss Jane Marple. Per THR, Mark Frost (Fantastic Four and Twin Peaks) has been hired to pen Miss Marple’s latest adventure while placing it within a contemporary context. Marple made her first appearance in Christie’s 1927 short story “The Tuesday Night Club” and made her big screen debut in 1961 in Murder, She Said being played by Margaret Rutherford. Angela Lansbury later made a turn as the wily sleuth in 1980′s The Mirror Crack’d. Of course, Lansbury would also go on to play a similar character, the mystery writer/amateur detective Jessica Fletcher, in your grandmother’s favorite television series, Murder, She Wrote.

[Update: Jennifer Garner will produce and star as a younger version of Miss Marple.]

Disney Releases Updated Synopsis for PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: ON STRANGER TIDES

by Jason Barr    Posted: December 22nd, 2010 at 1:05 pm

Disney has sent out an updated synopsis for Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides.  In case you’re new to the film, On Stranger Tides stars Johnny Depp, Penelope Cruz, Ian McShane, Geoffrey Rush, Kevin R. McNally, Astrid Berges-Frisbey, and Sam Claffin.  Briefly, the film will focus on Captain Jack Sparrow’s search for the Fountain of Youth and will hit 3D theaters on May 20th, 2011.

To check out the updated synopsis, hit the jump.  In case you missed them, you can click here to check out some recent images of a cool Pirates theater standee and here to check out a new trailer for the film.  You can also find our write-up of the trailer’s Disneyland premiere here.

IRON MAN 3 Set for May 3, 2013

by Matt Goldberg    Posted: October 18th, 2010 at 1:28 pm

Walt Disney Pictures has set the release date for Iron Man 3 for May 3, 2013.  This news from Exhibitor Relations’ Facebook page comes on the heels of a press release from Disney announcing that they had purchased the distribution rights for Iron Man 3 and The Avengers from Paramount.  It’s worth noting that if this release date holds, Iron Man 3 would come out almost one year after The Avengers, which is slated for May 4, 2012.

Nothing is set in stone at the moment, but presumably all the actors who signed on for Iron Man 2, signed multi-picture deals so Marvel and Disney can choose who they want to bring back.  The biggest question mark is whether or not Jon Favreau will helm the third film.  As you may recall, there was some protracted negotiations between the director and Marvel over coming back for the sequel.  However, Favreau has already said that if he returns, he would like The Mandarin to be Iron Man 3′s villain.

Disney Buys Distribution Rights for THE AVENGERS and IRON MAN 3 from Paramount Pictures

by Matt Goldberg    Posted: October 18th, 2010 at 12:54 pm

In August of last year, Walt Disney Studios bought Marvel for $4 billion.  That deal did not include character and properties that were already being produced under other studios.  Today, Disney, Marvel Studios, and Paramount Pictures have reached a deal for Disney to handle the worldwide marketing and distribution for The Avengers and Iron Man 3.  Paramount will remain the worldwide distributor of the upcoming Thor and Captain America: The First Avengers.  Disney reportedly paid $115 million for the transfer of the rights to Iron Man 3 and The Avengers.

So what does this mean for you?  It means that The Avengers and Iron Man 3 open with a Disney logo in front instead of a Paramount one.  That’s it.  The Comic-Con presentation will still be under Marvel Studios and nothing really changes except Disney is trying to keep the marketing and distribution of these major films in house.  Hit the jump for the full press release.

New High-Res Poster for SECRETARIAT

by Brendan Bettinger    Posted: August 31st, 2010 at 11:55 am

Walt Disney Pictures has released a new poster for Secretariat, based on “the impossible true story” of the horse that in 1973 became the first Triple Crown winner in twenty-five years.  Diane Lane (Nights in Rodanthe) and John Malkovich (Being John Malkovich) star in the inspirational tale, written by Mike Rich (Radio) and directed by Randall Wallace (We Were Soldiers).  Check out the poster in high resolution after the jump.

Disney Enters into the MONSTER WITNESS RELOCATION PROGRAM

by Matt Goldberg    Posted: August 23rd, 2010 at 12:13 pm

Disney has picked up Ahmet Zappa and Michael Wilson’s script, Monster Witness Relocation Program.  Variety is short on details as to what the story, which is based on an original idea by Zappa, is about, but I think the title provides a fairly strong hint.  The movie is being developed as a star vehicle for Jaden Smith.

Zappa previously sold the rights to his novel The Monstrous Memoirs of Mighty McFearless to the studio.  That book focuses on “a brother and sister who discover they hail from a long line of monster hunters. They have to learn the family business quick when their father is kidnapped and they take on the most diabolical creature in the universe.”  And then Cthulhu killed them.  I’m assuming that’s how the story ends.

6 Movie Clips and a Featurette from Walt Disney’s THE PRINCESS AND THE FROG

by Steve 'Frosty' Weintraub    Posted: November 18th, 2009 at 11:45 pm

“‘The Princess and the Frog’ is a return to the timeless world of hand-drawn animation at Disney. It’s an ageless fairy tale, but with a fresh twist that combines everything we look for in great stories: comedy, adventure, music-and most of all, the kind of heart that always sets Disney animation apart.”

~ John Lasseter, Executive Producer and Chief Creative Officer, Walt Disney Animation Studios

Opening on November 25^th, in limited release, is Walt Disney’s return to 2D animation, The Princess and the Frog.  After years of focusing on computer animation, The House That Walt Built is returning to its roots and I couldn’t be more excited.  While I don’t know if The Princess and the Frog is going to be a classic like Aladdin or Beauty and the Beast, I know there is a place for traditional animation alongside what Pixar does so brilliantly with computers.  So if you feel like I do and want Disney to make more 2D films, you’ve got to buy a ticket when Princess and the Frog goes nationwide on December 11^th.  So to help promote the film, we’ve been provided with six clips from the movie and a featurette.  Check them out after the jump:

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