mattel Tagged Articles at Cinematical

The casting call will be very specific: "Seeking young blonde woman, 6' tall, measurements 39-19-33. Must wear high heels and be able to drive sports car. Math skills not necessary."

Variety reports that Universal, emerging triumphant after months of negotiations, has wrangled the rights to make a live-action Barbie movie. Mattel has a long history of holding a very tight rein on the image of their premier money-earner, so you can bet that there's enough clauses and caveats attached to keep a dozen lawyers in custom suits.

"Barbie is the most famous doll in history, a unique cultural icon in the world of brands," Universal Pictures chairman Marc Shmuger told Variety, and Mattel claims the doll has a staggering 99 percent brand awareness. The audience for a Barbie movie is as established as that of, well, the enormously successful Disney princesses. As Mattel licenses the rights from Disney to make the princess dolls and accessories, it can't have escaped their notice that there's big bucks to be earned by tying products to movies that little girls love.

He-Man will really have to call on the power of Greyskull if he hopes to get a movie made anytime soon. Variety has confirmed Latino Review's earlier scoop, and reports that Mattel and Warner Bros have parted ways on He-Man. All is not lost, as Mattel fully intends to shop the muscles from Eternia to other studios, and John Stevenson is expected to remain on board as director. Producer Joel Silver, who has been involved with developing He-Man since 2007, will have to say farewell as he's exclusive to Warner Bros.

The last we heard about Warner Bros' Greyskull was that the studio brought newcomer Evan Daugherty to revamp Justin Marks' script. Clearly, not even the rewrite kindled any enthusiasm, as Variety notes that Mattel and Warner Bros just didn't see eye to eye on the film. They made a mutual decision to let the project lapse this month.

But all is not lost for a happy marriage between Mattel, Warner Bros, and Silver as they still have Hot Wheels in development. Between you and me if you were going to let an option lapse, it'd be a movie based on a line of little toy cars. I'm not knocking them, I had tons of them. But even in my wildest kid dreams, I never saw them as movie material. But He-Man? Definitely! It had swords, sorcery, and a promise of PG-13 bloodletting. Someone else will see that, and quickly snatch Greyskull up for a buff blonde boy to turn into a franchise.

Tales of a Viewmaster movie have been floating around for a few days now, and I thought it was just the fevered imagination of Twitter. But no. Now it's in The Hollywood Reporter. DreamWorks is talking to Mattel to acquire the rights to the toy, and has asked Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci "to do some Transformers-style magic on it."

The reason I thought it was a Twitter joke is that Brad Caleb Kane announced via 140 characters that he was penning the script. "It'll be like the old '80s Amblin movies: Goonies, Young Sherlock ... in that vein." The Tweet was subsequently deleted, though the plan is still in the works. DreamWorks really wants to make a family friendly film out of the ViewMaster, and is trying to get everything signed and official. Let's stress that -- it's not signed, and Kurtzman and Orci seem to be the deciding factor. One can hope that if they declare it to be ridiculous, DreamWorks will come to its senses and realize you cannot make a film out of an inanimate object. I mean hey, I loved the ViewMaster too, and I felt like I was transported into a magic film cell world, but it doesn't mean it can actually be a movie.

Besides, the ViewMaster already tried to make it onscreen in the 1980s, and failed. Go below the jump and remind the toy it's just not ready to be a feature after this performance.

Though it's only been a week since Heath Ledger was permanently laid to rest, Warner Bros. is slowly bringing back its marketing campaign for The Dark Knight. Mattel has revealed images of its Ledger-inspired Joker dolls; the first of which will retail at $7.99 and features a rocket launcher that can be placed in the Joker's hand. The second doll (pictured to the right) is a slightly larger, more detailed version created by action-figure designers the Four Horsemen. It will retail at $10.99. The image comes from The New York Post, who revealed it along with a quote from the Ledger family: "Heath was very proud of his work in the film, and his family is aware and supportive of Warner Bros. and its partner's plans for the movie." Mattel will sell two versions of the doll, with both hitting toy shelves this May (two months prior to The Dark Knight landing in theaters on July 18).

Mattel claims Ledger's death is "not exactly a marketing point," and that "kids are going to buy the toy if they like the movie." Yes, but the toy comes out two months before the movie does. Then again, the character is so recognizable, I really don't think it matters. But what do you think:

Should Mattel and Warner Bros. have waited until closer to the film's release to shovel a Ledger-like doll onto toy shelves? Or is this marketing tactic a normal one?

I wish this was a cruel joke, but apparently it's not. In a recent Hollywood Reporter article that talks about toy companies and the various film and TV deals they have in the works, they mention that Mattel is "in talks with Hollywood partners to turn Magic 8 Ball into a theatrical release ..." Yes, the round black ball you ask questions to, while shaking and waiting for a little plastic thing to tell you the answer. They want to somehow make that into a movie. A real movie. About a Magic 8 Ball. Is it just me, or has Mattel handed over all their properties to some guy sprinkled with idiot dust? Mattel, who are obviously foaming at the mouth after watching Hasbro's Transformers take the world by storm, are now actively pursuing a number of different avenues.

Apart from the aforementioned (and brilliant) Magic 8 Ball idea, they're still looking to push Barbie and Hot Wheels onto the big screen even though the option with Sony Pictures expired this year. Mattel is also looking to do something with He-Man and the Masters of the Universe; a project that was recently rescued by Warner Bros. and supposedly has Joel Silver attached as producer. As we previously told you, Hasbro is also exploring their options on future big or small screen projects revolving around such brands as Candy Land, Trivial Pursuit (good TV show), Ouija Board, Monopoly and Clue (which was already turned into a movie). Let's not forget Paramount's plans to do something with G.I. Joe as well. Oh, and the article also mentions a Bratz sequel. Yay! Are there any other toys or games you'd like to see up on the big screen?