Rich Ross' Big Picture and Bottom Line

Dick Cook is officially ousted and his replacement, Rich Ross, is starting to make changes to the world's most magical studio. Ross and Iger plan to release about five tentpole features every year: one during the spring (think Alice in Wonderland), then two animated and two live-action features throughout the rest of the year. They want to produce and distribute films that they will be able to be fully exploit on television and the internet, as well as other media outlets.

However, Disney is slowly moving away from being a moviemaker and closer to just becoming a distributor. That's why they are shopping around for studios like DreamWorks and Marvel--Disney wants to profit off of films through the internet and TV without the need of producing them. And Rich Ross is making this a definite possibility.

That's not to say that Disney's never going to make another movie again. They are already planning on a sequel to Enchanted, a new Muppet movie, a Lone Ranger film, a third National Treasure, a fourth Pirates of the Caribbean, and Zemeckis' Yellow Submarine, as well as a Jungle Cruise and Tommorowland film. Plus, Disney has an incredibly strong line-up of films already: Alice in Wonderland, Prince of Persia, Rapunzel, Toy Story 3, The Sorcerer's Apprentice, and Tron Legacy.

Ross is certainly more of a "suit" that Dick Cook ever was. I just hope that he knows what he is doing...

Source: Variety

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With Nowhere Else to Turn, Disney Makes a 'Tomorrowland Movie'

After making over $1 billion dollars, Disney wants to recreate the blockbuster giant that was Pirates of the Caribbean. But with The Haunted Mansion not available after that train wreck with Eddie Murphy, Disney turns to a broader topic, its theme park "lands". Specifically, Tommorowland.


Disney has hired screenwriters Jon Lucas and Scott Moore to write an "epic-sized action adventure set in space." Disney denies that it will be solely based on Tomorrowland, or if that will even be the title, but it has been said that this Pirates-of-the-Caribbean-Wannabe will feature Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson.


I suppose that we shouldn't be too quick to judge, though. Afterall, I wasn't expecting anything from The Pirates of the Caribbean Trilogy, and that (although having gone downhill after the first one) did turn out to be a decent movie with a solid plot and enjoyable characters. I am not sure what to expect from this new Tommorowland movie, but I just hope it is nothing like Eddie Murphy's The Haunted Mansion. I do hope that it will be representative of the futuristic experience and wonder that is, and was, Tomorrowland. Oh, and I wouldn't mind a cameo by the PeopleMover.

Source: FirstShowing.net

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