abc Tagged Articles at Cinematical

When I was growing up, Disney started to release non-family films under other labels, such as Touchstone. However, you could always tell that the movie was a Disney production by the distribution label that appeared before the film: Buena Vista. Even a self-centered pre-teen like myself could figure that out. Buena Vista is also the name for Disney's home entertainment division. However, Disney has decided that the time has come to let go of Buena Vista, and the label for distribution and home entertainment will soon be replaced.

As you know, Disney is now part of the media conglomeration that includes TV network ABC, and the corporation would prefer to use existing and familiar brand names, rather than diluting its image with a lot of labels that they feel are less well-known. After all, you never hear people saying, "Hey, I want to go see the latest Buena Vista film." Already this year, several other divisions labeled with Buena Vista or Touchstone were changed to ABC or Disney. However, not all Touchstone divisions will be renamed for the time being -- it's the remaining Buena Vista labels that will change, probably to names incorporating Disney or ABC. And you know they're not changing Pixar, since that's a name that actually gives us all more confidence in the quality of the studio's animated films.

It is apparently not enough that Sunday's Oscar telecast had better ratings than last year's show. The Academy ordered YouTube to remove all clips of the program, including a video of the musical number by Jack Black, John C. Reilly and Will Ferrell, which was viewed over 250,000 on the site before being taking down. This is obviously a bad move on the part of the Academy, because these unauthorized clips could very well drive viewers to next year's telecast. Considering the Oscars are not replayed or released in any other way, the Academy isn't really losing out by having YouTube host the clips. They are actually gaining fans via the promotion of the only few worthy parts of the show.

Unfortunately the Academy doesn't see it this way. For one, they argue that Oscar.com has its own video clips, from which they receive ad income -- though these clips don't include most of the popular moments that were being viewed on YouTube, such as the previously mentioned performance. Still, Academy exec Ric Robertson stated that even if there was no outlet for Oscar fans to see highlights, the YouTube clips would have been ordered shut down. Robertson also said that the authorized clips on the official Oscar site will be taken down eventually to, "whet people's appetite for next year's show." Certainly the YouTube clips would do a much better job of that. I seriously believe the day will come when the Academy embraces YouTube's benefit as a promotional tool, but I fear that with it will come full-view ads on the stage of the Kodak so that even unauthorized views will be paid for. And the Academy probably wonders why it can't attract audiences as big as it used to.

Update: Hollywood Wiretap has pointed out that many clips still exist, in a variety of languages, including the Black, Reilly and Ferrell number.

When I heard that director Doug Liman and screenwriter Simon Kinberg were planning to bring their Mr. & Mrs. Smith to network television, my brain spit out a pair of automatic responses: 1. Hmm, guess that means no sequel any time soon, and 2. I wonder who they'll get to play the roles made famous by the stunningly photogenic pair known as Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie. Well, based on the news that Moviehole.net just dished out, the female half of the equation has been set ... and it's a lovely one indeed.

Panamanian mega-cutie Jordana Brewster has been cast as Mrs. Smith. And if the name and this pic aren't enough to jog your memory, I'm hoping you'll remember the beautiful Ms. Brewster from her work in movies like The Faculty, The Fast and the Furious, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning and (ugh) Annapolis. For those looking for some evidence as to Jordana's skills with quips and/or guns, feel free to give the sunny little indie flick D.E.B.S. a rental. (Not a great film, but a colorfully fun one.)

No word yet on who'll be playing Mrs. Smith's other half when the duo hits the small screen, but I'd be expecting an announcement sooner than later: ABC wants to have the Smith series ready for broadcast this autumn.

Amidst all the sh*t hitting the fan in the wake of Mel Gibson's arrest, ranting and apology, there have been mentions of his stated interest in producing a Holocaust miniseries (as a sign of either his true feelings or his cynicism, depending on the perspective of the person talking about it) "based on a memoir about a Dutch Jew during World War II." Well, according to a report in today's Wall Street Journal, that miniseries, which Gibson's Icon Entertainment production company had set up with ABC, has been pulled. While the unnamed ABC representative who spoke with the WSJ said the reason for their decision was simply that "it has been two years and the network still has not seen a script," the timing of the announcement makes that a little hard to believe.

To this point, Disney -- the company releasing Apocalypto, Gibson's current project -- has refused to comment on the movie's status (it's currently scheduled for release in December). Given that the film was a marketing nightmare to begin with (no stars, foreign language and reportedly extremely violent), how Disney chooses to handle it in the current climate will be worth watching.

Anyone who watched any portion of ABC's prime time lineup last night (mmmm ... Grey's Anatomy) knows, thanks to the network's endless shilling, that the 973rd Academy Awards are scheduled to take place two weeks from yesterday. So what better time to start assaulting you with our Oscar Coverage? We've come up with a very scientific system to determine, with absolutely no margin of error, this years winners. You're going to want to bookmark or Blogline our Oscar Watch category post haste. Like, right this second. No, seriously. NOW.

Mary McNamara opens up her article on The Envelope with, "And the Oscar nominees for best picture are ... five movies most people haven't seen." While the nominees didn't exactly surprise, everyone is now wondering whether or not these "small" films will spell disaster for ABC and one of the most watched shows of the year.

Not sure about that one, but I will say this: Something tells me the Red States won't be watching. We have political films, we have gay cowboys and we have Jon "Three Bush jokes per minute" Stewart - oh, a shot of Michael Moore riding off into the sunset as the credits role would just totally seal the deal for me. I mean, we're at war, should we expect anything less? However, although it may not be splendid for ratings, most feel the trend towards recognizing "the little ones" is definitely a step in the right direction.

Co-President of Sony Picture Classics, Mike Barker, seems to think so...even if they're responsible for the film Capote, which took home five nominations (including Best Picture). "The [nominated] films remind me of the studio movies of the '70s — 'The Last Picture Show, Five Easy Pieces, Shampoo — all of which won lots of Oscars and ended up grossing very well."

Personally, I like that there isn't a Lord of the Rings or a Titanic this year. Sure, Brokeback Mountain is the favorite, but the field still feels wide open. In an effort to bring more eyes to these films before the awards, all of them (except for Crash, which is out on DVD) will be expanding, marking their widest release to date. Will people go see them if Leonardo DiCaprio isn't featured? Hard to tell. I know ABC are crossing their fingers.