Sweetland goes Sony

Doug Sweetland is a cinematic master. Doug Sweetland, in case you wondering, is a cinematic master because he is the man behind my third favorite Pixar short of all-time, Presto. (My first being For the Birds, and the second being Geri's Game).

In addition to accomplishing the enormous feat of directing Presto, Mr. Sweetland was an animator on Toy Story, A Bug's Life, Monsters Inc., Toy Story 2, and Finding Nemo, and then moved up in the food chain to become a Story Artist for The Incredibles and Supervising Animator on Cars. He has won two Annie Awards, been nominated for several others, and was also nominated at the Oscars for Presto. It is fair to say that he is a fairly high-regarded bigwig up in Emeryville.

Announced earlier today, however, Doug has left his position at Pixar in the dust. He left the dream job of a lifetime in order to direct a feature for Sony Pictures Animation. The film is entitled The Familiars, and is based on a children's book of the same title by Adam Epstein (who also worked on the screenplay for the film).

Hannah Mighella, president of the studio, had this to say about the ex-Pixarian:

It was clear from our first conversation with Doug that we'd found our director. Not only does he possess a keen story sense and a wonderful sense of humor but his passion for animation and for this project are unrivaled.

Although Doug has to be slightly insane to just pick up and leave Pixar, I am very excited to see what he does with The Familiars and Sony Pictures Animation. Perhaps I will finally be able to rate a non-Disney/Pixar animated film 10 out of 10 for once.

Developing...

Source: PR Newswire

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Disney Parks to "Simplify and Streamline Product Delivery"

Today Disney announced that it will consolidate the Walt Disney Parks and Resorts' operating structure in a hope to "streamline decision-making and eliminate redundancy".

They feel that the consumer doesn't want multiple images of the Disney company and its parks, but rather "one-Disney" experience:

"We know that our Guests want a 'one-Disney' experience and we must organize around that expectation," said Rasulo. "The long-term success of Parks and Resorts depends upon our ability to adapt and innovate and respond to Guest preferences. These changes are essential to maintaining our leadership position in family tourism and reflect today's economic realities."

As a result, the management for the separate, domestic parks will consolidate into one organization in a hope to make the parks more similar and turn the consumer's view of multiple "Disneys" into "one-Disney":

A new Global Business Development team led by Executive Vice President Nick Franklin will combine the existing development functions of business and real estate development. The team will be responsible for driving growth by working with existing businesses on their development strategies, while also exploring new business opportunities around the globe.

Another interesting thing about this new policy and management is that now Imagineering will "be reorganized into a single practice merging resort development with attractions and entertainment development to bring the creativity of Disney storytelling to the design and delivery of products at all Disney destinations."

All of these changes are effective immediately, but chances are that this will not really change much about the parks to us consumers; just to execs, managers and the other "behind-the-scenes" people.

Source: Walt Disney Parks and Resorts Press Releases

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Great Microsoft E3 News

Today is the E3 conference for Microsoft, and there were tons of fantastic announcements made! This list will continue to be updated as more announcements are made. Here is the list, including links, images, and details:

1. Rock Band 2 Set List announced! In addition to having the original Rock Band's songs ported over to Rock Band 2 for a small fee, there are 80 new songs that come on the RB2 disc. Here are a few:

AC/DC "Let There Be Rock"
Beastie Boys "So Whatcha Want"
Bob Dylan "Tangled Up in Blue"
Bon Jovi "Livin' on a Prayer"
Disturbed "Down with the Sickness"
Duran Duran "Hungry Like the Wolf"
Kansas "Carry On Wayward Son"
Panic at the Disco "Nine in the Afternoon"

Click here for the rest.


2. NetFlix to stream all of their "Watch It Now" movies right to your Xbox 360!


3. Xbox 360 to get a brand new dashboard. In addition, they are getting a "Mii-type" avatar system. Here is the new dashboard:


4. Xbox 360 to get Final Fantasy XIII! This is most likely a huge setback for Sony, who has been suffering anyways. Final Fantasy has always been a franchise that has been exclusive to Sony, and is one of the reasons that many people would buy a PS3. Not anymore.


5. This one's the most exciting for me. The Portal sequel! Portal 2 is going to be released later this year through the Xbox Live Arcade. It will be known as Portal: Still Alive.


6. Gears of War 2 coming out November 7, 2008.


Keep coming back as more announcements are made!

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