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Showing posts with label Walt Disney. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Walt Disney. Show all posts
Monday, February 24, 2014
Saving Mr. Banks Review
Caught "Saving Mr. Banks" courtesy of Ayala Malls and I must say it was worth my time.
This movie follows the events that transpired in the initial development of the live-action Mary Poppins movie produced by Disney (the one starring Julie Andrews) featuring Academy Award winner Tom Hanks as Walt Disney and Emma Thompson as Mary Poppins creator P.L. Travers.
Thursday, February 13, 2014
Tom Hanks Channels Real Walt Disney in Saving Mr. Banks
Sometimes, it really takes a beloved actor to portray a beloved figure. That's why Tom Hanks makes the perfect actor to play pioneering studio chief and eventual Hollywood legend, Walt Disney, in the inspiring drama, “Saving Mr. Banks.”
Also starring fellow double Oscar® winner Emma Thompson and acclaimed actor Colin Farrell, “Saving Mr. Banks” is inspired by the extraordinary, untold back story of how Disney’s classic “Mary Poppins” made it to the screen.
Tom Hanks says, “‘Saving Mr. Banks’ is about the making of ‘Mary Poppins’, not about the filming of ‘Mary Poppins.’ It’s about the translation of ‘Mary Poppins’ from book to screen. It’s about the creative process, of how P.L. Travers’ character started on paper first before it became the classic movie. I think this is actually a new take on that sort of story idea. What were the secrets behind this great movie that everybody loves? Well, it has a checkered past. It’s not just about somebody who broke their foot while they were shooting the film. It’s about somebody who broke the spirit of the people in the room when they were writing that movie. And, that was Pamela Travers.”
Says director John Lee Hancock, “This film portrays a side of Disney we haven’t seen before. It’s not the Walt we know from ‘The Wonderful World of Disney,’ which was fun to explore. But, someone had to play Walt Disney, become Walt Disney. Who would that be? There was really only one person that all of us could think of—Tom Hanks. I wasn’t trying to put a rubber mask on Tom and make him look exactly like Disney. I wanted Walt Disney to come from inside. Tom is such a fine actor that that’s where he begins his work—from the inside.
“Tom grew his own mustache,” Hancock continues in describing Hanks’ physical “transformation” for the role. “There’s a lot of voice work, the way he walks, the body position, the way he holds his hands, the way he touches his mustache. How he phrases things and lets sentences roll off the end. He simply became Walt Disney to me and I was completely amazed.”
“I don’t look or sound anything like Walt Disney,” Hanks affirms in responding to Hancock’s comments. “In addition to growing a mustache and parting my hair, the job at hand was to somehow capture all that whimsy that is in his eyes as well as all of the acumen that goes along with that. You can’t do an imitation of Walt Disney. There is a cadence to the way he sounds that comes from, I feel, his enthusiasm for what was in his head. He is an institution without a doubt and worthy of the museum that his family built for him up in the Presidio in San Francisco [The Walt Disney Family Museum].
“I went up to the museum and spent an entire day there,” Hanks confirms about part of the research required for his portrayal of the Hollywood legend. “Diane Disney and the staff there were incredibly welcoming and helpful. I heard every single piece of audio and saw every piece of film in the place about Walt’s entire history. He invented an art form that anybody can imitate, but no one can do better. Just helped tremendously.”
Hanks came away from that visit with important insight into Walt Disney’s character. He explains, “Walt was hands-on every step of the way, yet he always used the word 'we.' He never said, 'I had an idea' or 'I did it this way.' I thought that was great. There was an inclusiveness to everything he did. It went from the early cartoons in Kansas City all the way to his theme parks.”
Explaining the essence of Disney that he was trying to capture on screen, Hanks says, “Walt’s head was so full of magnificent ideas that he could not help make everybody else excited about them. And that’s what I was going for. I wanted to convey his pride and joy about the studio and what was coming out of it. There is a tactile connection to every word he says that has to come out of release.”
Emma Thompson looked forward to working with Tom Hanks, as the two of them have always wanted to do a film together. She says, “We have known each other for a long time, so when this was being cast I rang him up and said, ‘This is just so perfect.’
“Tom is fascinated by Disney and knows a lot about him. There’s something faintly similar to the pair of them—their enduring popularity and their sort of everyman quality and a huge kind of a charm,” she concludes.
Opening across the Philippines on Feb. 26, “Saving Mr. Banks” is distributed by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures International through Columbia Pictures.
Also starring fellow double Oscar® winner Emma Thompson and acclaimed actor Colin Farrell, “Saving Mr. Banks” is inspired by the extraordinary, untold back story of how Disney’s classic “Mary Poppins” made it to the screen.
Tom Hanks says, “‘Saving Mr. Banks’ is about the making of ‘Mary Poppins’, not about the filming of ‘Mary Poppins.’ It’s about the translation of ‘Mary Poppins’ from book to screen. It’s about the creative process, of how P.L. Travers’ character started on paper first before it became the classic movie. I think this is actually a new take on that sort of story idea. What were the secrets behind this great movie that everybody loves? Well, it has a checkered past. It’s not just about somebody who broke their foot while they were shooting the film. It’s about somebody who broke the spirit of the people in the room when they were writing that movie. And, that was Pamela Travers.”
Says director John Lee Hancock, “This film portrays a side of Disney we haven’t seen before. It’s not the Walt we know from ‘The Wonderful World of Disney,’ which was fun to explore. But, someone had to play Walt Disney, become Walt Disney. Who would that be? There was really only one person that all of us could think of—Tom Hanks. I wasn’t trying to put a rubber mask on Tom and make him look exactly like Disney. I wanted Walt Disney to come from inside. Tom is such a fine actor that that’s where he begins his work—from the inside.
“Tom grew his own mustache,” Hancock continues in describing Hanks’ physical “transformation” for the role. “There’s a lot of voice work, the way he walks, the body position, the way he holds his hands, the way he touches his mustache. How he phrases things and lets sentences roll off the end. He simply became Walt Disney to me and I was completely amazed.”
“I don’t look or sound anything like Walt Disney,” Hanks affirms in responding to Hancock’s comments. “In addition to growing a mustache and parting my hair, the job at hand was to somehow capture all that whimsy that is in his eyes as well as all of the acumen that goes along with that. You can’t do an imitation of Walt Disney. There is a cadence to the way he sounds that comes from, I feel, his enthusiasm for what was in his head. He is an institution without a doubt and worthy of the museum that his family built for him up in the Presidio in San Francisco [The Walt Disney Family Museum].
“I went up to the museum and spent an entire day there,” Hanks confirms about part of the research required for his portrayal of the Hollywood legend. “Diane Disney and the staff there were incredibly welcoming and helpful. I heard every single piece of audio and saw every piece of film in the place about Walt’s entire history. He invented an art form that anybody can imitate, but no one can do better. Just helped tremendously.”
Hanks came away from that visit with important insight into Walt Disney’s character. He explains, “Walt was hands-on every step of the way, yet he always used the word 'we.' He never said, 'I had an idea' or 'I did it this way.' I thought that was great. There was an inclusiveness to everything he did. It went from the early cartoons in Kansas City all the way to his theme parks.”
Explaining the essence of Disney that he was trying to capture on screen, Hanks says, “Walt’s head was so full of magnificent ideas that he could not help make everybody else excited about them. And that’s what I was going for. I wanted to convey his pride and joy about the studio and what was coming out of it. There is a tactile connection to every word he says that has to come out of release.”
Emma Thompson looked forward to working with Tom Hanks, as the two of them have always wanted to do a film together. She says, “We have known each other for a long time, so when this was being cast I rang him up and said, ‘This is just so perfect.’
“Tom is fascinated by Disney and knows a lot about him. There’s something faintly similar to the pair of them—their enduring popularity and their sort of everyman quality and a huge kind of a charm,” she concludes.
Opening across the Philippines on Feb. 26, “Saving Mr. Banks” is distributed by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures International through Columbia Pictures.
Wednesday, January 29, 2014
Saving Mr. Banks -- Untold Story of "Marry Poppins'" Journey from Book to Screen
In 1961, Walt Disney invited “Mary Poppins” author P.L. Travers to his studio in Los Angeles to discuss, in person, his continued interest in obtaining the movie rights to her beloved book and character—a pitch he first made to her in the 1940s. Still hesitant and disinterested after all those years, Travers wanted to tell the Hollywood impresario to go fly a kite but with dwindling sales of her books and a bleak economic future looming, P.L. Travers said yes and embarked on a two-week sojourn in Los Angeles that would ultimately set the wheels of the beloved film in motion.
Now, Walt Disney Pictures presents “Saving Mr. Banks,” a film inspired by this extraordinary, untold back story of how Disney’s classic “Mary Poppins” made it to the screen, starring two-time Academy Award® winner Emma Thompson, fellow double Oscar® winner Tom Hanks and acclaimed actor Colin Farrell.
“Mary Poppins’” journey to the screen begins the moment Walt Disney’s daughters beg him to make a movie of their favorite book, P.L. Travers’ “Mary Poppins.” Walt makes them a promise to do so, but it is a promise that he doesn’t realize will take 20 years to keep. In his quest to obtain the rights, Walt comes up against a curmudgeonly, uncompromising writer who has absolutely no intention of letting her beloved magical nanny get mauled by the Hollywood machine. But, as the books stop selling and money grows short, Travers reluctantly agrees to go to Los Angeles to hear Disney’s plans for the adaptation.
For those two short weeks in 1961, Walt Disney pulls out all the stops. Armed with imaginative storyboards and chirpy songs from the talented Sherman brothers, Walt launches an all-out onslaught on P.L. Travers, but the prickly author doesn’t budge. He soon begins to watch helplessly as Travers becomes increasingly immovable and the rights begin to move further away from his grasp.
It is only when he reaches into his own childhood that Walt discovers the truth about the ghosts that haunt her, and together they set Mary Poppins free to ultimately make one of the most endearing films in cinematic history.
Expounding on the premise of the film, director John Lee Hancock says, “It’s really a fantastic story, but it’s not the behind-the-scenes look at the making of ‘Mary Poppins.’ You’re not on a soundstage with a young Julie Andrews and Dick Van Dyke. Our story takes you back two to three years before the actual production of the movie began.
“Walt Disney saw the promise of that movie, which made it worth dealing with P.L. Travers to secure the rights. That’s our story, a fantastic story, about a beloved movie, its own story and characters, and the origins of how it became this amazing, groundbreaking film. On a deeper level, it’s also about two storytellers and Disney’s journey trying to discover why P.L. Travers holds on so dearly and protectively to her story and the image of this father she adored,”Hancock concludes.
Colin Farrell co-stars as Travers’ doting dad, Travers Goff, along with British actress Ruth Wilson (Disney’s “The Lone Ranger”) as his wife, Margaret; Oscar® and Emmy® nominee Rachel Griffiths (“Six Feet Under”) appears as Margaret’s sister Aunt Ellie (who inspired the title character of Travers’ novel); and a screen newcomer—11-year-old Aussie native Annie Rose Buckley—is the young, blossoming writer, nicknamed Ginty, in the flashback sequences.
The cast also includes Oscar® nominee and Emmy® winner Paul Giamatti (“Sideways”) as Ralph, the kindly limousine driver who escorts Travers during her two-week stay in Hollywood; Jason Schwartzman (“Rushmore”) and B.J. Novak (“Inglourious Basterds”) as the songwriting Sherman brothers (Richard and Robert, respectively); Emmy winner Bradley Whitford (“The Cabin in the Woods”) as screenwriter Don DaGradi; and multi-Emmy winner Kathy Baker (“Edward Scissorhands”) as Tommie, one of Disney’s trusted studio confidantes.
“Saving Mr. Banks” is directed by John Lee Hancock (“The Blind Side”) from a screenplay written by Kelly Marcel and Sue Smith.
Opening across the Philippines on Feb. 26, “Saving Mr. Banks” is distributed by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures International through Columbia Pictures.
Now, Walt Disney Pictures presents “Saving Mr. Banks,” a film inspired by this extraordinary, untold back story of how Disney’s classic “Mary Poppins” made it to the screen, starring two-time Academy Award® winner Emma Thompson, fellow double Oscar® winner Tom Hanks and acclaimed actor Colin Farrell.
“Mary Poppins’” journey to the screen begins the moment Walt Disney’s daughters beg him to make a movie of their favorite book, P.L. Travers’ “Mary Poppins.” Walt makes them a promise to do so, but it is a promise that he doesn’t realize will take 20 years to keep. In his quest to obtain the rights, Walt comes up against a curmudgeonly, uncompromising writer who has absolutely no intention of letting her beloved magical nanny get mauled by the Hollywood machine. But, as the books stop selling and money grows short, Travers reluctantly agrees to go to Los Angeles to hear Disney’s plans for the adaptation.
For those two short weeks in 1961, Walt Disney pulls out all the stops. Armed with imaginative storyboards and chirpy songs from the talented Sherman brothers, Walt launches an all-out onslaught on P.L. Travers, but the prickly author doesn’t budge. He soon begins to watch helplessly as Travers becomes increasingly immovable and the rights begin to move further away from his grasp.
It is only when he reaches into his own childhood that Walt discovers the truth about the ghosts that haunt her, and together they set Mary Poppins free to ultimately make one of the most endearing films in cinematic history.
Expounding on the premise of the film, director John Lee Hancock says, “It’s really a fantastic story, but it’s not the behind-the-scenes look at the making of ‘Mary Poppins.’ You’re not on a soundstage with a young Julie Andrews and Dick Van Dyke. Our story takes you back two to three years before the actual production of the movie began.
“Walt Disney saw the promise of that movie, which made it worth dealing with P.L. Travers to secure the rights. That’s our story, a fantastic story, about a beloved movie, its own story and characters, and the origins of how it became this amazing, groundbreaking film. On a deeper level, it’s also about two storytellers and Disney’s journey trying to discover why P.L. Travers holds on so dearly and protectively to her story and the image of this father she adored,”Hancock concludes.
Colin Farrell co-stars as Travers’ doting dad, Travers Goff, along with British actress Ruth Wilson (Disney’s “The Lone Ranger”) as his wife, Margaret; Oscar® and Emmy® nominee Rachel Griffiths (“Six Feet Under”) appears as Margaret’s sister Aunt Ellie (who inspired the title character of Travers’ novel); and a screen newcomer—11-year-old Aussie native Annie Rose Buckley—is the young, blossoming writer, nicknamed Ginty, in the flashback sequences.
The cast also includes Oscar® nominee and Emmy® winner Paul Giamatti (“Sideways”) as Ralph, the kindly limousine driver who escorts Travers during her two-week stay in Hollywood; Jason Schwartzman (“Rushmore”) and B.J. Novak (“Inglourious Basterds”) as the songwriting Sherman brothers (Richard and Robert, respectively); Emmy winner Bradley Whitford (“The Cabin in the Woods”) as screenwriter Don DaGradi; and multi-Emmy winner Kathy Baker (“Edward Scissorhands”) as Tommie, one of Disney’s trusted studio confidantes.
“Saving Mr. Banks” is directed by John Lee Hancock (“The Blind Side”) from a screenplay written by Kelly Marcel and Sue Smith.
Opening across the Philippines on Feb. 26, “Saving Mr. Banks” is distributed by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures International through Columbia Pictures.
Monday, August 19, 2013
Know Your Voice Actors.
A simple infographic featuring the various voice actors from our childhood cartoon series. I really didn't know that Walt Disney was the original voice actor for Minnie Mouse.
Thursday, July 11, 2013
First Look at Tom Hanks as Walt Disney
Yup you read it right, Tom Hanks is playing Walt Disney.
The X number of times Oscar winning actor plays the famed studio owner opposite Emma Thompson who plays PL Travers for the movie "Saving Mr. Banks"
Sadly, this isn't a biopic about the life and times of Disney but rather focuses on a specific point in time; the production of the film "Mary Poppins" which starred Julie Andrews and Dick Van Dyke.
No release date for this film at the moment.
The X number of times Oscar winning actor plays the famed studio owner opposite Emma Thompson who plays PL Travers for the movie "Saving Mr. Banks"
Sadly, this isn't a biopic about the life and times of Disney but rather focuses on a specific point in time; the production of the film "Mary Poppins" which starred Julie Andrews and Dick Van Dyke.
No release date for this film at the moment.
Wednesday, December 12, 2012
Walt Disney's Animated Epic Adventure "Frozen" in Cinemas 2013
Walt Disney Animation Studios presents an epic tale of adventure and comedy in “Frozen,” a computer-animated feature film slated for the big screen on November 27, 2013.
Directed by Chris Buck (“Tarzan,” “Surf’s Up”) & Jennifer Lee (screenwriter of “Wreck-It Ralph”) and produced by Peter Del Vecho (“Winnie the Pooh,” “The Princess and the Frog”), “Frozen” features the vocal talents of film/TV/stage star Kristen Bell as Anna, a young dreamer about to take the adventure of a lifetime, and Tony Award ®-winning actress Idina Menzel as Elsa the Snow Queen. The movie will feature original songs by Broadway greats Robert Lopez and Kristen Anderson-Lopez.
In “Frozen,” a prophecy traps a kingdom in eternal winter, so Anna (voice of Bell) must team up with Kristoff, a daring mountain man, on the grandest of journeys to find the Snow Queen (voice of Menzel) and put an end to the icy spell. Encountering Everest-like extremes, mystical creatures and magic at every turn, Anna and Kristoff battle the elements in a race to save the kingdom from destruction.
Bell has starred in a variety of films, including the comedies “Forgetting Sarah Marshall” and “Couples Retreat,” and the upcoming films “Hit & Run,” “Some Girls” and the Farrelly Brothers’ “Movie 43.” On the small screen, Bell is currently starring in the Showtime series “House of Lies” alongside Don Cheadle; she has also starred in “Heroes” and “Veronica Mars.” Broadway credits include “The Crucible” and “Tom Sawyer.”
Menzel, who won a Tony Award® as Best Actress in a Musical for her role as Elphaba in Broadway’s “Wicked” (2004), landed her first role on Broadway in 1995 in the Tony Award-winning musical “Rent.” Film credits include “Enchanted” and the feature film “Rent.” She has appeared in a recurring role on TV’s “Glee” and recently released “Idina Menzel Live: Barefoot at the Symphony,” a live concert with an orchestra led by composer/conductor Marvin Hamlisch. Menzel is currently on a North American concert tour.
Robert Lopez is a three-time Tony Award®-winning writer of the Tony and Grammy® Award-winning musical “The Book of Mormon,” which was co-written with Trey Parker and Matt Stone (“South Park”), and the musical “Avenue Q,” which ran for six years on Broadway and four years in London’s West End. Lopez teamed with wife Anderson-Lopez, whose Drama Desk-winning show “In Transit” is Broadway-bound, to write original songs for 2011’s “Winnie the Pooh,” a stage version of “Finding Nemo” and a new musical called “Up Here.”
Lee's screen adaptation of John Steinbeck’s “The Acts of King Arthur and His Noble Knights” is being produced by Troika Pictures. She has an original screenplay in development with Leonardo DiCaprio's Appian Way, and her original script “Lucid Dreams” was optioned by Wolfgang Peterson's Radiant Productions. Lee holds an MFA in Film from Columbia University and a BA in English from the University of New Hampshire.
Buck directed (with Kevin Lima) Disney’s 1999 high-swinging feature “Tarzan,” which won an Oscar® and a Golden Globe® for Best Music/Original Song (Phil Collins’ “You’ll Be in My Heart”). He directed (with Ash Brannon) 2007’s Oscar-nominated “Surf’s Up” for Sony Pictures Animation. His credits within animation also include 1989’s “The Little Mermaid,” “The Rescuers Down Under” (1990) and “Pocahontas” (1995).
Directed by Chris Buck (“Tarzan,” “Surf’s Up”) & Jennifer Lee (screenwriter of “Wreck-It Ralph”) and produced by Peter Del Vecho (“Winnie the Pooh,” “The Princess and the Frog”), “Frozen” features the vocal talents of film/TV/stage star Kristen Bell as Anna, a young dreamer about to take the adventure of a lifetime, and Tony Award ®-winning actress Idina Menzel as Elsa the Snow Queen. The movie will feature original songs by Broadway greats Robert Lopez and Kristen Anderson-Lopez.
In “Frozen,” a prophecy traps a kingdom in eternal winter, so Anna (voice of Bell) must team up with Kristoff, a daring mountain man, on the grandest of journeys to find the Snow Queen (voice of Menzel) and put an end to the icy spell. Encountering Everest-like extremes, mystical creatures and magic at every turn, Anna and Kristoff battle the elements in a race to save the kingdom from destruction.
Bell has starred in a variety of films, including the comedies “Forgetting Sarah Marshall” and “Couples Retreat,” and the upcoming films “Hit & Run,” “Some Girls” and the Farrelly Brothers’ “Movie 43.” On the small screen, Bell is currently starring in the Showtime series “House of Lies” alongside Don Cheadle; she has also starred in “Heroes” and “Veronica Mars.” Broadway credits include “The Crucible” and “Tom Sawyer.”
Menzel, who won a Tony Award® as Best Actress in a Musical for her role as Elphaba in Broadway’s “Wicked” (2004), landed her first role on Broadway in 1995 in the Tony Award-winning musical “Rent.” Film credits include “Enchanted” and the feature film “Rent.” She has appeared in a recurring role on TV’s “Glee” and recently released “Idina Menzel Live: Barefoot at the Symphony,” a live concert with an orchestra led by composer/conductor Marvin Hamlisch. Menzel is currently on a North American concert tour.
Robert Lopez is a three-time Tony Award®-winning writer of the Tony and Grammy® Award-winning musical “The Book of Mormon,” which was co-written with Trey Parker and Matt Stone (“South Park”), and the musical “Avenue Q,” which ran for six years on Broadway and four years in London’s West End. Lopez teamed with wife Anderson-Lopez, whose Drama Desk-winning show “In Transit” is Broadway-bound, to write original songs for 2011’s “Winnie the Pooh,” a stage version of “Finding Nemo” and a new musical called “Up Here.”
Lee's screen adaptation of John Steinbeck’s “The Acts of King Arthur and His Noble Knights” is being produced by Troika Pictures. She has an original screenplay in development with Leonardo DiCaprio's Appian Way, and her original script “Lucid Dreams” was optioned by Wolfgang Peterson's Radiant Productions. Lee holds an MFA in Film from Columbia University and a BA in English from the University of New Hampshire.
Buck directed (with Kevin Lima) Disney’s 1999 high-swinging feature “Tarzan,” which won an Oscar® and a Golden Globe® for Best Music/Original Song (Phil Collins’ “You’ll Be in My Heart”). He directed (with Ash Brannon) 2007’s Oscar-nominated “Surf’s Up” for Sony Pictures Animation. His credits within animation also include 1989’s “The Little Mermaid,” “The Rescuers Down Under” (1990) and “Pocahontas” (1995).
Tuesday, March 20, 2012
Trending: Reddit Users Planning on Cosplay Flashmob to the Tune of Kingdom Hearts
Was checking the feeds today on Reddit when I came into this interesting post on the "IAMA" thread. TS (Thread starter) was an employee at Disneyland/ Disney World who wore the Goofy costume.
Now it really was pretty interesting to read about the private lives of the employees who dress up as Disney characters for a living but what totally threw me off was this comment.
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