Domain: jimhillmedia.com
Stories and comments across the archive that link to jimhillmedia.com.
Comments · 8
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Re:xbox live has terrible terms of service
I think Dick van Dyke probably has more problems. But I'm also betting he's not big into the whole interwebs and online games thing.
Don't bet on it. -
Re:I've got a better idea
and frankly basic CG is doable on a desktop computer.
Reminds me of an interesting story. An episode of Diagnosis Murder needed a scene of a motorcycle crash, but the budget was not enough for a location shot... so Dick Van Dyke went home, turned on his Amiga, and did the crash in CG.
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One important thing overlooked:
DisneyQuest has been a miserable failure. The last one in Orlando is closing in 2008.
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DisneyQuest closing in 2008
It certainly is more complicated than buying a space invaders box and harvesting money from kids, but maybe the market is there.
I'm afraid not. WDW's DisneyQuest is set to close in 2008 to become yet another ESPNZone. DisneyQuest was supposed to be a worldwide chain, but they bailed on it after opening two locations, and closing Chicago's after a little over two years. Disney has sunk hundreds of millions of dollars into DQ since 1994, and they're done.
Maybe Dave & Busters and Jillian's are the future of outside-the-home gaming, although the latter went bankrupt and was absorbed by the former. And Brunswick walked away from its D&B wannabe, US Play, after opening two locations (Atlanta and Minneapolis).
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Dick Van Dyke, actor and Lightwave 3D user
No joke. Dr. Sloan is a bonified Lightwave 3D user and has even self-produced a few effects shots for his show Diagnosis Murder.
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Brother Bear was not a flop and I can prove it!
And you missed another flop, though - Brother Bear
According to sources on the net, BB cost between $70-80 mil (less than Lilo & Stitch) for its production. So far, (it's still in theaters), BB has made $84.2m domestic, plus, according to Box Office Mojo,
Brother Bear drew an excellent crowd in Hong Kong, grossing $560,000 on 29 screens, which was the second-highest debut ever for a traditionally animated film behind Mulan. Brother Bear has collected $41.3m in 16 countries to date highlighted by Mexico's $12.4m and South Korea's $1.3m in 10 days.
This is with several more big countries (like Japan) to go. BB is also the #1 film in Argentina, Poland (knocking ROTK out of first this week, and has been #1 in Mexico for four weeks running.
This is all before the DVD release, where, generally speaking, more profits are made than in the theaters!
For comparison in the 2d world, the last two major-budget traditionally animated films to come out in 2003--Dreamwork's "Sinbad", and Warner Bros' "Looney Tunes", made 26.4, 20.9 domestically to date.
Not to mention the ancillary products (hats, shirts, video games, etc.). According to Jim Hill Media.com, they're expecting a profit of $300-$400m all told when BB finishes its run.
Doesn't sound like a flop to me. -
Issues with the Florida Studio ShutdownFine, let Disney shut down the (practically brand-new) Florida animation facility. What other effects does this have?
We all know that the Florida studio was responsible for creating "Lilo and Stitch". As WDW moves forward with a retrofit of the screamingly-fun "Alien Encounter" ride to a more family-friendly "Meet Stitch" format, they ran into a small glitch.
With all the animators gone from the Florida studio, they ended up having to out-source the pre-show animation to some non-Disney company.
On the plus side, it gives Disney one more building to reuse for yet another cartoon-based stage show in the Studios theme park. Better get that created soon while they still have popular films that haven't been used yet. That's right, you can't have too many stage shows that all end before 5pm at a theme park open until 10pm to entertain the masses.
The reason Pixar is considered a threat to Disney is not because they have succeeded in 3D computerized animation where others (except Shrek) have not, but because they excel at the exact same things that the best Disney works did just as well: the storytelling. Toy Story 2 was supposed to go direct-to-video, but its story was so well done and compelling that Disney told Pixar to remake it as a feature.
The medium is not the problem here. It's the message. 2D vs 3D is not what Disney should be concerned with, but rather how to get back to telling a quality story instead of some rehashed dreck. If the story is good, then the audience will come and Disney can continue to build *original* park rides based on those stories.
Yes, Disney needs Pixar because Pixar "gets" what Walt did and will be terribly sorry if they can't come to terms with Pixar on the contract renewal. But Pixar also gets a benefit from the Disney association that they may not get with another studio distribution as the Disney name still carries a bit of class with it, so they may not want to play *too* hard to get. Being independent (like Lucasfilm) may allow you the freedom to create whatever you want and distribute it on your own terms, but it may not be the best solution for everybody.
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Re:Sad
What amazed me is there is nothing on the Thousand Leagues under the Sea ride which i was on when i was 7 but when I went back in 1998 was closed due to it no being able to be made handicap accesable, which pissed me off to no end cause it was one of my favorites along with Mr. Toads
Actually, dig around a little and you'll find that neither sub ride (both Disney World and Disneyland's sub rides are now closed) were close due to ADA requirements. ADA only would apply to new construction.
It's pretty common knowledge among the fan community (of which I admit that I am one) that they were closed simply due to save on the maintenance costs. It's further believed that Disney World's sub ride was closed because the staff conned Disney prez Ovitz (about halfway down the article).