Aug 31 2009
Disney acquires Marvel. Here's the press release:
DISNEY TO ACQUIRE MARVEL ENTERTAINMENT
Burbank, CA and New York, NY, August 31, 2009 -Building on its strategy of delivering quality branded content to people around the world, The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS) has agreed to acquire Marvel Entertainment, Inc. (NYSE:MVL) in a stock and cash transaction, the companies announced today.
Under the terms of the agreement and based on the closing price of Disney on August 28, 2009, Marvel shareholders would receive a total of $30 per share in cash plus approximately 0.745 Disney shares for each Marvel share they own. At closing, the amount of cash and stock will be adjusted if necessary so that the total value of the Disney stock issued as merger consideration based on its trading value at that time is not less than 40% of the total merger consideration.
Based on the closing price of Disney stock on Friday, August 28, the transaction value is $50 per Marvel share or approximately $4 billion.
"This transaction combines Marvel's strong global brand and world-renowned library of characters including Iron Man, Spider-Man, X-Men, Captain America, Fantastic Four and Thor with Disney's creative skills, unparalleled global portfolio of entertainment properties, and a business structure that maximizes the value of creative properties across multiple platforms and territories," said Robert A. Iger, President and Chief Executive Officer of The Walt Disney Company. "Ike Perlmutter and his team have done an impressive job of nurturing these properties and have created significant value. We are pleased to bring this talent and these great assets to Disney."
"We believe that adding Marvel to Disney's unique portfolio of brands provides significant opportunities for long-term growth and value creation," Iger said.
"Disney is the perfect home for Marvel's fantastic library of characters given its proven ability to expand content creation and licensing businesses," said Ike Perlmutter, Marvel's Chief Executive Officer. "This is an unparalleled opportunity for Marvel to build upon its vibrant brand and character properties by accessing Disney's tremendous global organization and infrastructure around the world."
Under the deal, Disney will acquire ownership of Marvel including its more than 5,000 Marvel characters. Mr. Perlmutter will oversee the Marvel properties, and will work directly with Disney's global lines of business to build and further integrate Marvel's properties.
The Boards of Directors of Disney and Marvel have each approved the transaction, which is subject to clearance under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act, certain non-United States merger control regulations, effectiveness of a registration statement with respect to Disney shares issued in the transaction and other customary closing conditions. The agreement will require the approval of Marvel shareholders. Marvel was advised on the transaction by BofA Merrill Lynch.
Aug 31 2009
From the Associated Press, Disney buys Marvel for $4 billion, changing the entertainment game. Press release in next post
By RYAN NAKASHIMA
The Associated Press
LOS ANGELES (AP) - The Walt Disney Co. said Monday it is buying Marvel Entertainment Inc. for $4 billion in cash and stock, bringing such characters as Iron Man and Spider-Man into the family of Mickey Mouse and WALL-E.
Under the deal, Disney will acquire ownership of 5,000 Marvel characters. Many of them, including the Fantastic Four and the X-Men, were co-created by the comic book legend Stan Lee.
Analyst David Joyce of Miller Tabak & Co. said the acquisition will help Disney appeal to young men who have flocked to theaters to see Marvel's superhero fare in recent years. That contrasts with Disney's recent successes among young women with such fare as "Hannah Montana" and the Jonas Brothers.
"It helps Disney add exposure to a young male demographic it had sort of lost some balance with," Joyce said, noting the $4 billion offer was at "full price."
Disney said Marvel shareholders will receive $30 per share in cash, plus 0.745 Disney shares for every Marvel share they own. That values each Marvel share at $50 based on Friday's closing stock prices.
Marvel shares jumped $10.17, or 26 percent, to $48.82 shortly after the market opened. Disney shares fell 47 cents, or 1.8 percent, to $26.37.
Disney said the boards of both companies have approved the transaction, but it will require an antitrust review and the approval of Marvel shareholders.
Disney last made a big purchase in 2006 when it acquired Pixar Animation Studios Inc., the creator of the "Toy Story" franchise, for $7.4 billion in stock.
Disney CEO Robert Iger said the latest acquisition combines Marvel's "strong global brand and world-renowned library of characters" with Disney's "unparalleled global portfolio of entertainment properties" and ability to maximize value across multiple platforms and territories.
Marvel earned a net profit of $206 million last fiscal year, up 47 percent from a year earlier, on revenue of $676 million, as it took movie production in house instead of just cutting licensing deals.
Aug 30 2009
In case you loved "The Final Destination" and want to play catch up with Death in the first three films, here's what I had to say about the previous films in the franchise. The first opened March 17, 2000 and moviegoers never imagined it would span the decade.
'Final Destination'
Turns out listening to John Denver sing "Rocky Mountain High" can be hazardous to your health. Deadly, even.
When death creeps in, it announces itself - with an unexpected breeze, a rivulet of liquid and, somewhere, Denver singing his salute to Colorado. At least that's the way it happens in "Final Destination," a better-than-expected thriller that veers dangerously close to teen slasher territory once too often. No one just dies here; they strangle on a nylon cord (eyes hemorrhaging in the process) or have their head sliced off by a chunk of metal turned into a flying Frisbee. You get the picture, and it's not pretty.
"Final Destination" opens with high school French students preparing for a 10-day trip to Paris. As one dad says to his 17-year-old son, "Live it up, Alex. You've got your whole life ahead of you." But does Alex (Devon Sawa) have his whole life ahead of him?
Alex and his friends board the plane and, then, in either a dream or premonition, he sees the jet take off and be immediately rocked by violent turbulence. Bags tumble from the overheard compartments, oxygen masks drop, the left side explodes, passengers are sucked out of the plane, and then a wall of flames roars down the aisles and consumes everyone - including him.
When he wakes up, the same sequence of events begin to occur and when he announces the plane is doomed, chaos ensues. He and five others end up getting tossed off the plane. A seventh passenger is now forbidden to board.
Minutes later, while stewing in the boarding area, the seven watch the plane turn into a fireball and fall from the sky. All 287 passengers are dead. The only survivors are the ones who walked, willingly or not, off the plane.
Instead of being hailed as a savior, Alex is viewed with suspicion by the FBI and NTSB and his fellow survivors. The stakes are raised further when some of the seven begin to die, always when Alex is nearby. When he and one of the others (Ali Larter) sneak into the funeral home to see the corpse of a friend, they encounter a creepy undertaker (Tony Todd) who explains what is happening.
In death there are no accidents, no coincidences, no mistakes. When Alex walked off the plane, he interrupted death's design, the mortician tells him. But death still has him and the others in its sights, which terrifies and terrorizes the shrinking survivor pool.
"Final Destination" is from Glen Morgan and James Wong, executive producers of "The Others," the new NBC series about psychically gifted oddballs. As they do on the show, they imbue normal sights and sounds - a spinning fan, that noticeable gap between the jetway and plane - with ominous overtones.
The idea of this movie is, indeed, intriguing, although the circumstances are a little too close for comfort (perhaps purposely) to what happened to TWA Flight 800 in July 1996. That plane crashed off the coast of Long Island, N.Y., killing 230 people - including members of the Montoursville (Pa.) High School French Club and their chaperones. These kids couldn't have been traveling to, say, Spain?
"Final Destination" is the sort of movie that teen-agers may want to see because of its cast. In addition to Sawa and Larter, it stars Kerr Smith, who plays Jack McPhee on "Dawson's Creek." But the movie is rated R for violence, terror and language.
So you have a slasher flick without a visible slasher, but ample amounts of blood and gore. Alex accepts the word of the mysterious mortician (played by "The Candyman" star) without seeking other counsel, such as a minister or exorcist or a parent or someone who also beat the odds and survived a similar disaster. Trying to cheat death all by yourself can be a heavy load.
Wong says, "We want to do for planes and air travel what ` Jaws' did for sharks and swimming." So if you're scheduled to fly any time soon, consider yourself warned. Of course this is one movie you won't be watching while returning your seat to its upright position.
'FINAL DESTINATION'
Rated R for violence, terror, language
Starring: Devol Sawa, Ali Larter
Director: James Wong
TWO STARS
'Final Destination 2'
Nowhere to go in 'Final Destination 2'
Friday, January 31, 2003
In "Final Destination 2" there is no such thing as "lucky to be alive." If you cheat death, it will simply haunt you, stalk you and execute you at a later date -- by such methods as impalement (a favorite), dismemberment, beheading, explosion and a close encounter with a very large, heavy piece of glass.
Death, you see, never takes a holiday. That's what we learned in "Final Destination," a March 2000 movie so popular that it spawned an oxymoronic sequel: "Final Destination 2."
In the original, a high school student headed to Paris with his French class had a premonition that the plane was going to crash. He and his friends bolted and they were the only survivors of an explosion that claimed 287 lives. One by one, though, they all died in bizarre accidents -- except for one person, Clear Rivers (Ali Larter).
Now, it's been a year since the jet disaster and a girl named Kimberly (A.J. Cook) and her friends are heading for spring break in Daytona in a red SUV. But, stopping on the freeway on-ramp, she has a premonition of a horrendous, multiple-car accident that starts with logs breaking loose from a flatbed truck and ends in widespread fire and death. When Kimberly tries to explain all this to a state policeman (Michael Landes), an accident unfolds before their eyes and he ends up saving her life.
Now, they've cheated death and death proceeds to go after the drivers and passengers who would have died -- had Kimberly not prevented them from entering the highway. So, it's here-we-go-again time as the survivors try to figure out how to stay alive. Unlike the high schoolers in the original, these folks are a motley crew including mom and son, recent lottery winner, stoner, confident career gal, teacher.
"Final Destination 2" lacks the sheer novelty of the first film and the deaths seem even more gruesome and less inventive this time. It was directed by onetime stuntman and stunt coordinator David R. Ellis, who stages a couple of spectacular highway crashes and creates an ominous mood through such touches as a splotch of transmission fluid resembling blood, fog, a harrowing trip to the dentist's office and the sight of a man carrying a crate of artificial limbs.
Larter isn't the only original cast member returning; Tony Todd has a cameo, again, as a creepy undertaker. The sequel tries to take the death-has-a-design mandate to another level and it partially succeeds -- amid the R-rated language and carnage that includes a blackened limb being flung around like a piece of barbecued meat.
"Final Destination 2" is a far better horror movie than, say, "Darkness Falls," but a little of the thrill (not to mention teen star quotient) of the first is gone.
'Final Destination 3'
Friday, February 10, 2006
Death by ... tanning bed?
Yes, and by roller coaster and drive-through window. The Grim Reaper -- or New Line Cinema -- sure knows its audience. Toss in a digital camera and you've got all the modern touchstones for "Final Destination 3" (R for violence/gore, language, some nudity).
This time, a senior named Wendy (Mary Elizabeth Winstead) is strapped into a seat on a roller coaster when she has a premonition that the wheels are going to come off, literally, and everyone will die. She hysterically insists that she be allowed to get off, and her premonition comes to pass.
As before, though, Death never takes a holiday. One by one, the other students who bolted from the coaster start to die, and it's up to Wendy and a classmate (Ryan Merriman) to figure out the punishing pattern and beat it.
The first 25 minutes of "Final Destination 3" conjure more dread than all of "When a Stranger Calls." But then it turns into a splatterfest, with writers Glen Morgan and James Wong engaging in a contest for the Rube Goldberg Device of Death, with extra points for turning heads into bloody pulps.
Aug 30 2009
Unless something wonky happens between now and Monday, the summer of 2009 is shaping up as a record-setter in terms of revenue.
That is thanks, in part, to the robust August with such audience magnets as "The Final Destination" and "Halloween II." Since 3-D did wonders for "Final Destination," expect "Halloween 3" to be in 3-D next summer, Bob Weinstein told the Associated Press.
Here are the box-office numbers for the weekend in North America, with final tallies out Monday from hollywood.com:
1. "The Final Destination," $28.3 million.
2. "Inglourious Basterds," $20 million.
3. "Halloween II," $17.4 million.
4. "District 9," $10.7 million.
5. "G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra," $8 million.
6. "Julie & Julia," $7.4 million.
7. "The Time Traveler's Wife," $6.7 million.
8. "Shorts," $4.9 million.
9. "Taking Woodstock," $3.7 million.
10. "G-Force," $2.8 million.
Aug 25 2009
From the Associated Press, quoting the Philadelphia Inquirer, comes word that M. Night Shyamalan is leaving the state for his next movie. So far, the trio of movies coming to Pittsburgh are still coming.
PHILADELPHIA (AP) - Pennsylvania's budget impasse even has the "Devil" heading for the hills.
The upcoming thriller by M. Night Shyamalan is moving production from Philadelphia north to Toronto.
Officials with the state film office say that's because of uncertainty about whether Pennsylvania's film tax credit will be approved in the budget.
The budget has been in limbo for nearly two months.
Shyamalan lives near the Philadelphia suburb of Malvern and has filmed eight of his nine movies in the region, including "The Sixth Sense," starring Bruce Willis.
Aug 25 2009
Elizabeth Banks, who last came to Pittsburgh to make a porno, could be returning here.
Variety reports on its Web site that the actress is in final negotiations to star opposite Russell Crowe in "The Next Three Days," the Paul Haggis movie that will shoot here this fall.
It's an adaptation of the 2008 French nail-biter "Pour Elle" or loosely "Anything for Her" about a wife and mother convicted of a murder she insists she did not commit and her husband's desperate efforts to free her.
The movie will be set in Pittsburgh and Crowe will play a teacher, who will function as an Everyman caught in a nightmare when his family is wrenched apart and his faith, belief and morals are tested.
Banks starred with Seth Rogen in Kevin Smith's "Zack and Miri Make a Porno," shot here in early 2008. The above photo, by Kimberley French, shows Banks and Emily Browning in "The Uninvited."
Aug 24 2009
This just in from Associated Press:
LOS ANGELES (AP) - A law enforcement official tells The Associated Press that the Los Angeles County coroner has ruled Michael Jackson's death a homicide.
The finding makes it more likely criminal charges will be filed against the doctor who was with the pop star when he died.
The official says the coroner determined a fatal combination of drugs was given to Jackson hours before he died in his rented Los Angeles mansion on June 25. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because the findings have not been publicly released.
Forensic tests found the powerful anesthetic propofol in Jackson's system along with two sedatives, the official says.
Dr. Conrad Murray, Jackson's personal physician, is the target of a manslaughter probe headed by Los Angeles police.
Aug 23 2009
Quentin Tarantino had a glorious opening weekend as he rewrote World War II history ... From the Associated Press, here are the estimated ticket sales for the weekend in North America from Hollywood.com. Final figures will be released Monday. Pictured above is Brad Pitt from the No. 1 movie of the weekend:
1. "Inglourious Basterds," $37.6 million.
2. "District 9," $18.9 million.
3. "G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra," $12.5 million.
4. "The Time Traveler's Wife," $10 million.
5. "Julie & Julia," $9 million.
6. "Shorts," $6.6 million.
7. "G-Force," $4.2 million.
8. "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince," $3.5 million.
9. "The Ugly Truth," $2.9 million.
10. "Post Grad," $2.8 million.
Aug 21 2009
I am so disappointed by this news. "Shutter Island" is directed by my favorite director (Martin Scorsese) and stars two of my favorite actors (Leonardo DiCaprio and Mark Ruffalo), not to mention Ben Kingsley, who is not too shabby, either. This will make February more promising but I had it pegged as a must-see movie for the fall.
Here's an Associated Press report on the movie being bumped from fall to February.
By CHRISTY LEMIRE
AP Movie Writer
LOS ANGELES (AP) - Paramount Pictures has moved Martin Scorsese's "Shutter Island" from an October release date to February, which takes it out of awards consideration for this year.
Studio chairman and chief executive officer Brad Grey said Friday that the scheduling shift from Oct. 2 to Feb. 19 was an economic decision.
"This is a situation facing every single studio as we all work through the financial pressures associated with the broader downturn," he said.
The anticipated thriller marks the latest pairing of Scorsese and star Leonardo DiCaprio, following "Gangs of New York" (2002), "The Aviator" (2004) and "The Departed" (2006), which won the Academy Award for best picture and earned Scorsese his first directing Oscar. It also stars Ben Kingsley, Patricia Clarkson, Jackie Earle Haley and Michelle Williams.
Based on a novel by "Mystic River" author Dennis Lehane, "Shutter Island" follows the investigation into the disappearance of a murderess from a mental institution. DiCaprio plays a U.S. Marshal in 1954 Boston looking for the woman, who is presumed to have escaped to the remote Shutter Island. His involvement in the case starts to make him question his own sanity.
Grey said the original decision to release the film as part of Paramount's 2009 slate was made during "a very different economic climate" and as a result the company must "adapt to a changing environment." Paramount is a division of Viacom Inc.
"Leonardo DiCaprio is among the most talented actors working today and Martin Scorsese is not just one of the world's most significant filmmakers, but also a personal friend," Grey added in his statement. "Following a highly successful 2009, we have every confidence that ‘Shutter Island' is a great anchor to lead off our 2010 slate and the shift in date is the best decision for the film, the studio and ultimately Viacom."
Aug 21 2009
If you want to be an extra in "Love and Other Drugs" (the Jake Gyllenhaal movie), here are details:
OPEN CALL FOR PAID MOVIE EXTRAS
For: "LOVE & OTHER DRUGS", a feature film starring
Jake Gyllenhaal ("Jarhead" & "Brokeback Mountain")
& Anne Hathaway ("Bride Wars" & "Devil Wears Prada")
What: Open Casting Call at Ross Park Mall (1000 Ross Park
Mall Drive Pittsburgh, PA 15237) on SATURDAY,
AUGUST 29th anytime between 1pm-5pm. We will be
set up inside the mall by Nordstrom and Tiffany.
Who: People ages 15 and up to work as paid extras,
stand-ins, photo-doubles, and silent bits.
If you are unable to attend the casting call, please create a
free online profile at www.mossercasting.com If you are
already on file with Nancy Mosser Casting, there is no need to
attend this open call.
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