You are viewing the archive: “Disney”

ABC Loses Bid To Kneecap Xmas Movie Suit

By DOMINIC PATTEN | Thursday May 2, 2013 @ 5:38pm PDTTags: 12 Days of Christmas, ABC, ABC Family, Disney

ABC and ABC Family discovered today that they must face the courts over whether they stole the idea for a 2011 Christmas movie from two veteran producers. A LA Superior Court judge today rejected an effort by the two companies and other defendants to legally eviscerate the complaint Beth Grossbard and Barri Rosenblum filed in January claiming their I Hate Christmas idea was lifted for the ABC Family movie 12 Dates Of Christmas. Judge Ruth Ann Kwan ruled against most of the demurrer (read it here) the defense introduced in late February. Kwan ordered that the claims of breach of confidence and accounting could stand from the initial complaint, but she did instruct Grossbard and Rosenblum’s lawyers to amend their breach of contract suit in regard to the claim of constructive trust. Once that is done, the process of discovery will begin in the case — which means it is still a ways off from reaching a jury as the plaintiffs’ have requested.

As I reported in January, the two seasoned producers say that they and I Hate Christmas writer Denise Gruska met with then-ABC Family Director of Development Beth Miller and ABC Family VP Original Programming Donna Ebbs on December 13, 2005, at the company’s Burbank offices in a pitch meeting for their TV movie. Though everyone supposedly made nice, their idea eventually wasn’t picked up. However, when they saw 12 Dates Of Christmas in December 2011 on ABC Family, the duo felt there had been a “brazen theft,” as their complaint states, of many elements of their movie. Besides the plot and other similarities, what also fueled the producers’ outrage was that 12 Dates Of Christmas was executive produced by Miller, who had left ABC since the 2005 meeting. Disney was a defendant in the original complaint but has  since been dismissed from the case with prejudice. READ MORE »

Comments (11)

ABC’s ‘GMA’ Lands First Interview With Jason Collins

By THE DEADLINE TEAM | Monday April 29, 2013 @ 5:17pm PDTTags: Disney, George Stephanopolous, Good Morning America, jason collins

It’s the get of the day on the story of the day: ABC News’ George Stephanopoulos has netted the first TV interview with Jason Collins, the veteran NBA center who today … Read More »

Comments (6)

‘Iron Man 3′ Breaking Records Overseas: $195.3M

By NIKKI FINKE, Editor in Chief | Sunday April 28, 2013 @ 12:45pm PDTTags: Box Office, Disney, Iron Man 3, Marvel Studios

SUNDAY 2ND UPDATE: Iron Man 3 internationally is opening bigger than even The Avengers with $195.3M from its first 5 days in theaters in 42 territories representing 79% of the marketplace abroad. Iron Man 3It’s the #1 … Read More »

Comments 45

Disney Theme Parks Find Cure For Insomnia

By THE DEADLINE TEAM | Friday April 26, 2013 @ 11:09am PDTTags: Disney, Monsters University

Disneyland, California Adventure, open 24 hoursDisney announced that it will keep three of its theme parks open for 24 hours in a row on May 24 to celebrate the start of summer. Disneyland Park and Disney Adventure … Read More »

Comments (10)

UPDATE: ‘Iron Man 3′ China Release Shifted

By DOMINIC PATTEN | Friday April 26, 2013 @ 9:20am PDTTags: Box Office, China, Disney, Iron Man 3, Marvel Studios

UPDATE: 9:20 AM: Just two days after Disney announced that Iron Man 3 would open in China on the same day as its North American release May 3, the date has changed. The sequel … Read More »

Comments (9)

Hot Trailer: ‘Monsters University’

By THE DEADLINE TEAM | Friday April 26, 2013 @ 5:23am PDTTags: Disney, Monsters University, Pixar

Here’s a new UK trailer for Disney/Pixar‘s Monsters University. This one focuses on Mike (Billy Crystal) and Sulley (John Goodman) as they study to become “scarers.” It also introduces Helen Mirren’s Dean Hardscrabble. Steve Buscemi, John Krasinski, Nathan Fillion and Alfred Molina also star. The film … Read More »

Comments (0)

UPDATE: Regal And AMC End Disney Renegotiation Dispute: Advance Ticket Sales Begin For ‘Iron Man 3′

By NIKKI FINKE, Editor in Chief | Thursday April 25, 2013 @ 2:42pm PDTTags: AMC Entertainment, Disney, Iron Man 3, Marvel Studios

2ND UPDATE 2:30 PM: The largest domestic movie theater chain Regal Entertainment says this post is going up on its Facebook page: “Regal has Iron Man 3! After some extensive talks with Disney, we’re glad to say that Tony Stark will definitely be in our theatres for Iron … Read More »

Comments (12)

Jennifer Garner Joining Steve Carell In ‘Alexander And The No Good, Very Bad Day’

By MIKE FLEMING JR | Wednesday April 24, 2013 @ 12:02pm PDTTags: Alexander And The Terrible, Disney, Jennifer Garner, Steve Carell
Mike Fleming

BREAKING: Disney is in talks with Jennifer Garner to star with Steve Carell in the Miguel Arteta-directed live-action adaptation of the Judith Viorst children’s book Alexander And The Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day. … Read More »

Comments (5)

‘The Daily Show’s Aasif Mandvi Set For ‘Million Dollar Arm’

By MIKE FLEMING JR | Wednesday April 24, 2013 @ 7:44am PDTTags: Asif Mandvi, Disney, Million Dollar Arm
Mike Fleming

EXCLUSIVE: Aasif Mandvi has signed on to co-star with Jon Hamm in Million Dollar Arm, the Craig Gillespie-directed pic by writer Tom McCarthy (The Visitor) for Disney. The film is based on a true story about struggling … Read More »

Comments (3)

TOLDJA! ‘Daredevil’ Rights Revert From Fox To Disney

By MIKE FLEMING JR | Tuesday April 23, 2013 @ 12:25pm PDTTags: Ben Affleck, Big Deals Film, Daredevil, Disney, Kevin Feige, Marvel Studios
Mike Fleming

The blogosphere is going wild as Marvel chief Kevin Feige does interviews for Iron Man 3 and acknowledges that Daredevil has returned to the Marvel fold at Disney. We told you this was going to happen last August, when … Read More »

Comments 24

Hot Trailer: ‘Thor: The Dark World’

By THE DEADLINE TEAM | Tuesday April 23, 2013 @ 1:07am PDTTags: Disney, Marvel Studios, Thor: The Dark World

This is the first trailer for Marvel‘s Thor: The Dark World, the sequel to 2011′s Kenneth Branagh-directed Thor. Game Of Thrones vet Alan Taylor helms this tale of the Mighty Avenger as he battles to save Earth and all the Nine Realms from a shadowy enemy led … Read More »

Comments (17)

Lucasfilm Cuts 20-Plus Jobs As Disney & ‘Star Wars’ Company Further Integrate

By DOMINIC PATTEN | Thursday April 18, 2013 @ 5:15pm PDTTags: Disney, Lucasfilm, Star Wars

A week after layoffs at Walt Disney Studios, Lucasfilm was hit this week with pink slips of its own. More than two dozen staff members were laid off, I have learned. The cuts came primarily in … Read More »

Comments (12)

CinemaCon: Disney, Not Government, Leading Soda Size Restrictions

By JEN YAMATO | Thursday April 18, 2013 @ 3:36pm PDTTags: CinemaCon, Disney, Movie Theater

NYC Mayor Bloomberg didn’t have the power to make soda regulations fly, but one movie studio did. Two years ago Disney enacted a sweeping health initiative across its brand and it’s still … Read More »

Comments (19)

Hot TV Spot: ‘Iron Man 3′ In China

By THE DEADLINE TEAM | Thursday April 18, 2013 @ 2:49pm PDTTags: China, Disney, DMG Entertainment, Iron Man 3, Marvel Studios

You don’t have to know the language to figure out Disney, Marvel and China-based producer-distributor DMG Entertainment have pulled out all the stops to promote Iron Man 3 in China ahead of its … Read More »

Comments (10)

Want ‘Iron Man 3′ Spoilers? Go To The Grocery Store

By DOMINIC PATTEN | Thursday April 18, 2013 @ 1:15pm PDTTags: Disney, Iron Man 3, Marvel Studios

Iron Man 3 doesn’t come out until May 3, but you can find out plenty about the movie today by visiting your local Albertsons. Of course, you might find it a little below your reading level. A novelization for children that … Read More »

Comments (6)

CinemaCon: Will Disney And Marvel Make Interactive Gaming The Next Texting In Movie Theaters?

By JEN YAMATO | Thursday April 18, 2013 @ 11:29am PDTTags: CinemaCon, Disney, Marvel, Movie Theaters

Sparks flew last year at CinemaCon when Regal CEO Amy Miles and IMAX’s Greg Foster floated the idea of allowing texting in theaters. So how fast will audiences reject in-theater gaming? … Read More »

Comments (14)

Hot Trailer: ‘The Lone Ranger’

By THE DEADLINE TEAM | Wednesday April 17, 2013 @ 2:23pm PDTTags: Disney, The Lone Ranger

Disney dropped its final trailer for The Lone Ranger during its just-wrapped presentation for exhibitors at CinemaCon in Las Vegas. It’s the most expansive look yet at the Western action pic starring Armie Hammer and Johnny Depp, directed by Gore Verbinski and produced by Jerry Bruckheimer. Next … Read More »

Comments 66

UPDATE: ‘Iron Man 3′ Tickets Not On Sale Yet By Some Theater Chains Because Of Dispute With Disney: Movie Due May 3rd

By NIKKI FINKE, Editor in Chief | Tuesday April 16, 2013 @ 4:36pm PDTTags: AMC, Big Deals Film, CinemaCon, Disney, Iron Man 3, Marvel Studios

4:30 PM UPDATE: My sources say Carmike and Disney have come to terms.

7:30 AM UPDATE: My sources say Regal, Carmike, and as I previously reported AMC are among those big movie chains holding out.

BREAKING… 6 AM EXCLUSIVE: CinemaCon underway now in Las Vegas gives the impression that the Hollywood Iron Man 3 Ticket Sales Problemstudios are buddy-buddy with the movie exhibitors. But there’s a frenemies drama unfolding there. I’ve learned that a number of movie theater circuits are refusing to put tickets on sale for Iron Man 3 even though its one of this summer’s most anticipated hits when it opens May 3rd. That’s because Disney decided to leverage the film in order to renegotiate the studio’s future terms with the chains beginning with this humongous Marvel blockbuster. I’m told that AMC, one of America’s largest exhibitors, is among those holding out even though the Robert Downey Jr movie opens wide in North America in just 17 days. Some chains were selling advance tickets — and then stopped. Distributors tell me Disney hasn’t negotiated its terms with the movie chains in several years — not even for Summer 2012′s huge tentpole The Avengers — so the studio thinks it’s due for a new overall deal on future Disney titles. Those include not just Marvel sequels but also Lucasfilm’s new Star Wars series as well as Pixar toons. That’s why the studio right now in Las Vegas is bargaining with the exhibition community, some of whose chains are pushing back. The result is an impasse with a number of circuits refusing to put IM3 tickets on sale until there is an accord. Read More »

Comments 24

Michael Rooker Joins ‘Guardians Of The Galaxy’

By THE DEADLINE TEAM | Tuesday April 16, 2013 @ 11:02am PDTTags: Disney, Guardians of the Galaxy, Marvel Studios, Michael Rooker

Michael Rooker, who was fantastic on his now-completed run on AMC’s The Walking Dead, has been cast as one of the four founding superheroes of Guardians Of The Galaxy, the Marvel Studios pic that James Gunn is … Read More »

Comments (9)
More Deadline | Hollywood »
« Previous Deadline | Hollywood