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D23 2017 : A Celebration of The Lion King

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7 years ago

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After displaying the stunning first look at Jon Favreau’s new take on the animated classic, the original creative team behind “The Lion King” gathered in the D23 Expo Arena to share stories of their time working on the classic picture. Moderated by Executive Producer Don Hahn, the panelists included Rob Minkoff (Co-Director), Mark Henn (Supervising Animator for “Young Simba”), and Tony Bancroft (Supervising Animator for “Pumbaa”).

Minkoff revealed to the audience that “The Lion King” almost didn’t happen due to the studio having more faith in the animated musical drama, “Pocahontas”. While “Pocahontas” was a success in its own right, “The Lion King” later out-grossed “Pocahontas” by nearly $200 million. A clip was also shown of his original storyboard pitch of the pivotal moment in the film when the spirit of  Simba’s father appears before him to guide him back to Pride Rock.

Henn and Bancroft each shared their experiences with the film as well, with Henn noting that he had originally campaigned to animate the villain, Scar, but was told by Bancroft that “Simba is the key to this movie; Without Simba, it won’t work.” Bancroft shared a humorous story in which his office-mate (Mike Surrey, Supervising Animator for “Timon”) made a mess of the office to make it seem as though a second earthquake had occurred after the ’94 Northridge quake.

The creative team then welcomed Ernie Sabella (Voice of “Pumbaa”) to the stage, where he sang an impromptu snippet of his signature song, “Hakuna Matata”. Sabella shared joyful tales of working with Nathan Lane (Voice of “Timon”) and how they were both originally slated to sing the eventual Oscar-winning song “Can You Feel The Love Tonight?” in the film, but were replaced after Elton John expressed his dissatisfaction with having the “stinky, old, fat warthog singing my song!”.  It was also mentioned that Pumbaa’s frequent flatulence problem wasn’t originally in the script, but was rather a creation of Sabella in order to crack up an exhausted Lane, whom, at the time of recording, was also starring in “Guys and Dolls” on Broadway.

Cast members Jim Cummings (Voice of “Ed”) and Whoopi Goldberg (Voice of “Shenzi”) were welcomed next, with Goldberg being a complete surprise. As two of the three villainous, yet lovable hyenas (the third being Cheech Marin (Voice of “Banzai”), who unfortunately couldn’t make it) they shared their joy of working on the film and displayed rather humorous clips of Cummings’ maniacal laughter and Goldberg’s singing in the recording booth. As the panel drew to a close, Hahn introduced the audience to Carmen Twillie (Vocalist; “Circle of Life”) to sing the Oscar-nominated song that we all fell in love with 23 years ago, reminding us all that we are a part of the great Circle of Life.

 

 

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Paramount+ Reveals Official Main Title Sequence for the Upcoming Series TALES OF THE TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES

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13 hours ago

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July 26, 2024

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During the TALES OF THE TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES panel earlier today at San Diego Comic Con, Paramount+ revealed the official main title sequence for the series. The sequence is composed by EMMY® nominee, Matt Mahaffey, known for his work on Sanjay and Craig, Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, and Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Movie and much more. 

From the studios of the Mutant Mayhem film, the all-new Paramount+ original series TALES OF THE TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES explores the adventures of everyone’s favorite pizza-loving heroes as they emerge from the sewers onto the streets of NYC. Leo, Raph, Donnie and Mikey are faced with new threats and team up with old allies to survive both teenage life and villains lurking in the shadows of the Big Apple. The series is produced by Nickelodeon Animation and Point Grey Pictures.

TALES OF THE TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES is executive produced by Chris Yost (The Mandalorian, Thor: Ragnarok) and Alan Wan (Blue Eye Samurai, Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles [2012 Series]). Production is overseen for Nickelodeon by Claudia Spinelli, Senior Vice President, TV Series Animation, Nickelodeon, and Nikki Price, Director of Development and Executive in Charge of Production.

In addition to the upcoming new series, stream all things Turtles on Paramount+.

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Comic-Con 2024: Those About to Die Activation

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16 hours ago

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July 26, 2024

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DISNEY+ CASTS DANIEL DIEMER AS FAN-FAVORITE ‘TYSON’IN SEASON TWO OF “PERCY JACKSON AND THE OLYMPIANS”

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16 hours ago

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July 26, 2024

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 in Hall H at San Diego Comic-Con, Rick Riordan and Disney+ revealed that Daniel Diemer (“Under the Bridge”) will star as fan-favorite cyclops “Tyson” in the epic adventure series “Percy Jackson and the Olympians.” Diemer joins Walker Scobell (Percy Jackson), Leah Sava Jeffries (Annabeth Chase) and Aryan Simhadri (Grover Underwood) as a series regular. The Disney+ Original series from Disney Branded Television and 20th Television will start filming its second season next week in Vancouver.

Season two of “Percy Jackson and the Olympians” is based on the second installment of Disney Hyperion’s best-selling book series titled “The Sea of Monsters” by award-winning author Rick Riordan. In the new season, Percy Jackson returns to Camp Half-Blood one year later to find his world turned upside down. His friendship with Annabeth is changing, he learns he has a cyclops for a brother, Grover has gone missing, and camp is under siege from the forces of Kronos. Percy’s journey to set things right will take him off the map and into the deadly Sea of Monsters, where a secret fate awaits the son of Poseidon.

Diemer stars as Tyson – a young Cyclops who grew up all alone on the streets, and finds it difficult to survive in the human world.  Shy and awkward, with a heart almost as big as he is, Tyson soon discovers that Poseidon is his father, which means Percy Jackson is his half-brother… and that Tyson may have finally found a home. 

Diemer recently starred in the Hulu limited series “Under the Bridge” based off the critically acclaimed book of the same name and a tragic true story of a missing teen girl in Vancouver in 1997. He will next star in the indie “Thug” opposite Liam Neeson and Ron Perlman for director Hans Petter Moland. Daniel was recently seen as the lead in the indie “Supercell” opposite Alec Baldwin and Skeet Ulrich and the lead in the film “Little Brother” opposite Phil Ettinger and JK Simmons. Daniel can also be seen in the Netflix series “The Midnight Club” and recently starred as the male lead in the breakout hit Netflix feature “The Half Of It” from producer Anthony Bregman and director Alice Wu. He is a graduate of Victoria Academy of Dramatic Arts in Vancouver.

Created by Rick Riordan and Jonathan E. Steinberg, season two of “Percy Jackson and the Olympians” is executive produced by Steinberg and Dan Shotz alongside Rick Riordan, Rebecca Riordan, Craig Silverstein, The Gotham Group’s Ellen Goldsmith-Vein, Bert Salke, The Gotham Group’s Jeremy Bell and D.J. Goldberg, James Bobin, Jim Rowe, Albert Kim, Jason Ensler and Sarah Watson.

The first season of “Percy Jackson and the Olympians” is available on Disney+

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