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I’ve been trying to find a copy of the 2004 animated short Lorenzo for quite a while. The film appeared in of theaters in front of the film Raising Helen which, oddly enough, I didn’t manage to catch. Anyway, from the look of the Google searches people use to find my page, a lot of other people are looking for Lorenzo too. So here’s a question for all you good people – is there anywhere online that one can see this piece of work? Any copies floating around out in the aether? Related Posts...
I was extremely saddened to read on Blue Sky Disney this evening that artist and illustrator Dave Stevens passed away yesterday. Stevens, 52, had been fighting a long battle with leukemia. A masterful artist, Stevens specialized in styles reminiscent of the 1930s and 40s. He reveled in the lost art of the pinup girl, and his drawings crackled with art-deco style and film serial excitement. He wasn’t prolific; a notoriously slow artist, he did things with pen and ink that most artists could not achieve with an array of brushes and paint. I’ve always been fascinated by artists that work in pen and ink; such simple tools can yield amazing results in the hands of someone as meticulous as Stevens. Sadly, many might not even know of Stevens’ work, or what place it has on a Disney blog. In 1982, Stevens created the Rocketeer in the pages of Pacific Comics’ Starslayer #2. Over the next thirteen years the Rocketeer would make occasional appearances in print but his connection to Disney comes through the 1991 film adaptation, The Rocketeer. This film, perhaps more than any other, is the most underrated film in the entire Disney canon. Directed by Joe Johnston and with a fantastic cast and score by James Horner (portions of which are still played at EPCOT Center’s “Fountain of Nations”), The Rocketeer deserves far more attention than it has received. Improperly marketed by Disney, and opening the same weekend as Terminator 2: Judgement Day, The Rocketeer underperformed at the box office and plans for a sequel were scuttled. This was a character that deserved a franchise, and one of my personal obsessions is the idea of creating a ride based on the film for the Hollywood Studios park. Oh, what one could do with a KUKA robocoaster and The Rocketeer… Unfortunately, Stevens rarely returned to the character himself, and plans to continue the Rocketeer’s adventures after 1995 never came to fruition. We only have a handful of stories scattered amongst different publishers by which to remember Cliff Secord, the Rocketeer. Thankfully Stevens himself continued to work, but not on comic projects. Mostly it seems he spent recent years doing art by commission, and selling his famous pinups at comic shows across the country. Perhaps someday the Rocketeer will continue in some form – it would be a fitting tribute to an artist lost far before his time. Read an excellent remembrance of Stevens at The Beat UPDATE: Thanks to Pat in the comments, who pointed out that Stevens’ mother has requested that fans donate to the Hairy Cell Leukemia Research Foundation. Related Posts...I’m not exactly a “parade” person – though I do like me a bit o’ paradin’ – but as many, many others seem to be I thought it worth mentioning that the “Block Party Bash” parade has premiered at Walt Disney World’s Hollywood Studios. The parade, previously of California’s Adventure, recently departed Anaheim’s sunny shores to make way for the new “Pixar Play Parade”. Pixar, Pixar everywhere, eh? Anyway, the parade seems to have been pretty well received, although I must say that inheriting DCA’s hand-me-downs must be a bit like getting secondhand clothes from your little brother the axe-murderer. Nevertheless, the hardworking entertainment Cast Members seem to be busting their tails as usual so you parade fans will have something new to see the next time you’re standing in the shadow of the Accursed Hat. Below are two Disney promotional photos; click on them to view a larger image.   Read the Orlando Sentinel coverage See more pictures courtesy of the mighty mighty EpcotServo (beware of SAMPO) Related Posts...Greetings, Programs!  My TRON poster has an added bonus at the bottom: “The 21st Century begins October 1st, 1982 at EPCOT Center in Florida”The film, Disney and nerd blogospheres collided recently with a widely publicized story that Disney is planning to release its long-gestating sequel to the film TRON in 2011. Furthermore, and perhaps unsurprisingly, it’s to be produced in 3D. For the uninitiated, TRON depicted a world inside computers where programs appear as electronic avatars of their real-world users. Jeff Bridges starred as Flynn, a down on his luck videogame programmer who is enlisted by Alan Bradley (Bruce Boxleitner) and his girlfriend Lora (Cindy Morgan) to hack into the mainframe of their employer ENCOM. ENCOM has been taken over by sinister middle-manager Ed Dillinger (David Warner), a bureaucrat who rose to power on the profits of game designs stolen from Flynn. Dillinger is using the MCP – his Master Control Program – to lock down access to the ENCOM systems and appropriate the work of others.  Boxleitner as TRONWhen Flynn breaks into ENCOM to hack its system, the MCP digitizes him and downloads him into the mainframe. There, he meets TRON (also played by Boxleitner), an electronic gladiator who is forced to battle other free programs on the game grid. You know, the typical sort of thing. Anyway, Flynn finds himself in an electronic version of Spartacus complete with disc battles and the iconic lightcycle races. Flynn and TRON must find a way to escape the grid, defeat the MCP and make the system safe for free programs once more.  Lightcycles. Teh awesum.TRON was brought to Disney by director Steven Lisberger, who had previously attempted to find funding for the film as an independent feature. Lisberger secured funding from Disney after providing a test reel demonstrating his intended techniques with a mockup of the disc sequence. The film remains significant for its combination of live action, backlit animation and an unprecedented amount of computer generated imagery. Its designs are iconic, benefiting from the contributions of legendary designers Syd Mead and Jean “Moebius” Giraud.  The Solar SailerDisney has toyed with the idea of sequelizing TRON for several years; despite the fact that the original film made only marginal profits and received mixed reviews, time has made it a cult favorite and it remains a seminal inspiration for a generation of artists in the computer and entertainment industries. It’s usually acknowledged that the film was ahead of its time, and despite its flaws – its script needed a bit of polishing, it needed a touch more humor and personality and a smidge of tightening – it’s a fascinating film that deserves revisiting. It was reported last Fall that Joseph Kosinski was in final talks to direct the new film, which would be produced by Sean Bailey and original TRON director Steven Lisberger and scripted by Eddie Kitsis and Adam Horowitz. Kosinski, a commercial director, has also been signed to direct the Logan’s Run remake for Warner Brothers. Those concerned about an untested director taking over the reins on the film might be somewhat assuaged by a look at his previous work; he certainly shows a talent for creating mood and atmosphere, and his Nike promo might as well be an audition for TRON. In any case, I’d rather have him in the director’s chair than some hacky journeyman or – even worse – Michael Bay. Hopefully negotiations will pan out this time; in 2005 it was announced that screenwriters Brian Klugman and Lee Sternthal would be writing a remake of TRON, and prior to that Lisberger himself intended to film a sequel. Widely reported to be called TRON 2.0, Lisberger’s film was much talked about between 2001 and 2004 and had gone through several script drafts despite Disney’s cold feet in greenlighting it. Progress on the project allegedly accelerated due to the success of the original film’s 20th anniversary DVD release  The TRON videogame actually outgrossed the film – through partial contributions from yours trulySo now that production seems to be going forward again, will it actually pan out this time? Here’s hoping. But if it does, I have some suggestions. If you’re listening, oh wise ones in Burbank, this is what I would do to make TRON 2 a success:
End of line. Related Posts...What if Pooh’s “100-Acre Wood” was in Anaheim? Or Ariel and Sebastian found their new undersea home here? What if Anaheim could be home to not two, but three Disney parks?
– Excerpt from thirdthemepark.com Yes, what about that, Mr. Eisner? With all the fooferall surrounding recent rumors of a fifth gate (or 4th and a half gate) in Florida, I’ve been reminded of an odd period in Disney history when, from 2000 until 2002, Disney operated a website called thirdthemepark.com. Occasionally when I make joking reference to the site as a generic verbal stand-in for any gross instance of managerial hubris, I find that Disney fans don’t remember or were not aware that this page once existed.  Click to enlarge
Thirdthemepark.com is a fairly interesting piece of Disney theme park lore, especially for those interested in the NeverWorld of lost park concepts. While the site itself is long gone (its URL is currently owned by an individual in Colorado), one can still view elements of it courtesy of the Internet Archive. So lets travel back, forty thousand years (or, say, seventeen), and take a look at this mysterious website and the process leading up to its creation. Continue reading Third Theme Park – It’s dot-com! Related Posts... |
 From the Progress City archives comes this collection of 33 tall tales and true from Disney history. Available in paperback, hardback, and ebook formats.  |
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and the fantastic 2003
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