Oren Aviv Tagged Articles at Cinematical
Quickhits: Adams Goes to War, Disney Takes on the Family Men and X-Men 3 Hits DVD
Filed under: Comedy », Drama », Casting », Deals », Disney », Scripts », 20th Century Fox », DIY/Filmmaking », Newsstand », Home Entertainment », Comic/Superhero/Geek »
Odds and ends from Friday:
- Amy Adams is heading off to battle after the actress was tapped to star alongside Tom Hanks, Julia Roberts and Philip Seymour Hoffman in Charlie Wilson's War. Directed by Mike Nichols, pic is based on the book by George Crile and tells the true story of a "rogue congressman and CIA operative who conspired to arm Afghan rebels against invading Soviet forces." The cast rocks. The director rocks. I'm certainly pumped up and ready for War.
- One week into his new role as President of Walt Disney Pictures, Oren Aviv spit out a preemptive seven-figure deal for a comedy pitch by Family Man writers David Diamond and David Weissman. Of course, this is one of those top-secret pitches, so all we know is that it's being described as a raucous adult comedy built for two male stars a la Wedding Crashers. After cutting back most of its staff, Disney has supposedly assigned the project to its fleet of brand new state-of-the-art robots.
- According to The Hollywood Reporter, 20th Century Fox is set to release X-Men: The Last Stand on October 3, with not one, but two special edition DVDs loaded with tons and tons of X-citing goodies. Among the features are: Three alternate endings, commentary from Brett Ratner, writers and producers, 10 deleted scenes and two hidden "Easter eggs" which, once found, unlock a scene where Beast recites Shakespeare and another showing the X-Jet landing in Washington. Oh, but that's not all -- Fox also plans to release a collector's edition that features "an exclusive 100-page commemorative book with an all-new story penned by Marvel Comics master Stan Lee." Time to start counting the seconds, X-fans.
Major Shake-Up at Disney: Get Ready for Those POTC Panty Liners
Filed under: Deals », Executive shifts », Disney », Newsstand »
All hell broke loose at Disney yesterday, and when the dust cleared, 650 people -- including Nina Jacobsen, the company's well-regarded head of live-action production -- had been canned, and movie production had been cut by over 30%. Though the fallout from the changes (particularly the firing of Jacobsen) will no doubt resonate for weeks, the facts are these: Disney is turning its focus inward, towards the Disney brand in general, and "emphasiz[ing] blockbuster franchise films over more adult fare," as evidence by the reduction of "esoteric" arm Touchstone's output to only two or three films per year.Though I'd argue with that characterization of Touchstone (in addition to Hidalgo, The Village and The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou, the label also produced Sweet Home Alabama and The Hot Chick), it's a small detail. The primary impetus behind all remains Disney's determination to concern itself with the broader potential of its successful branded franchises. For example, "A hit like Pirates of the Caribbean ... can spawn video games, action figures, cable TV shows and ... give new life to an old Disney theme park attraction." It's still far too early to judge the long-term impact of these changes, but it's hard not to see the decision to replace Jacobsen with Oren Aviv, a man whose last job with the company had him in charge of marketing, among other things, as a sign of things to come. And you thought that list of POTC products was a joke!
Jeremy Renner Wants To Be An Avenger
Directors We Love: Jim Jarmusch
Indie Roundup: 'Sweetgrass,' 'Clarkworld,' 'Broken Embraces'
Shelf Life: Fight Club_thumbnail.jpg)
Watch: Famous 'Matrix' Scene Re-Created with LEGOs
_thumbnail.jpg)
