Boy, that Disney really knows how to break the internet. In addition to news of Rian Johnson planning a brand-new Star Wars trilogy, so too is Disney finally pulling the trigger on a live-action Star Wars TV series for its upcoming streaming service. Plus – is Marvel headed away from Netflix?
Disney sent shockwaves through the world of streaming media earlier this week when it announced the company was ending its agreement with Netflix in 2019 in order to start its own competitive streaming movie and TV service. So some kind of “Dizflix” is coming, along with a similar ESPN service for sports due next year...
For the past few years ILMxLAB, Industrial Light and Magic’s Experience Lab, has been developing new ways to enjoy Star Wars using the latest virtual and augmented reality technologies. We've seen some samples of ILMxLAB’s projects in that time, but nothing beyond a very nice tech demo has been released to the public so far. That changes this winter when ILMxLAB and The Void will team to release Star Wars: Secrets of the Empire. Billed as a full-immersive virtual reality experience, Secrets of the Empire will let you actually enter that galaxy far, far away by simply dropping a visor down over your head.
This Friday, Paramount Pictures is releasing what will arguably be the finest family film of the year (to date): Monster Trucks, which has had a famously messy production up to its release in the doldrums of the first month of the year. (Shocking that a movie thought up by a 4-year old wouldn’t have smooth sailing!) Leaving its behind-the-scenes rockiness aside, Monster Trucks ostensibly has the ingredients to be a kids’ movie: it’s a mix of computer animation and live action; it’s directed by Chris Wedge of the Ice Age franchise; and it’s about big trucks. But all accounts suggest that the oddity of the concept’s genesis is borne out by the finished film, making for a truly odd film intended for the whole family. In (dubious) honor of Monster Trucks, thus, here’s our list of 10 of the truly weird, oddball children’s movies.
If you’re a fan of Disney baddies like cigar-smoking Bill Sykes from Oliver & Company (and really, who isn’t a fan of Bill Sykes from Oliver & Company?), this news is relevant to your tobacco-stained interests: The Walt Disney Company has banned all depictions of smoking from all of its films from all of its child-oriented labels (including Pixar, Marvel, and Lucasfilm) rated G through PG-13. Via a press release: