It’s easy to take classic animation for granted, especially these days when far more complicated images seem to appear like magic with the click of a button. But thanks to Reddit user jamieleto, these spliced rotoscoped images let us catch a glimpse at just how dedicated early Disney animators were to crafting a perfect product. More »
All may not be right in the galaxy now that Disney has pulled the plug on LucasArts, at least they’re currently working on a new Star Wars film which all of the original actors seem to be a part of. The last Star Wars film to be released was Episode III: Revenge of the Sith, which was released back in 2005, but it looks as though Disney is planning to release additional Star Wars films on a more regular basis.
Walt Disney Co.’s chairman Alan Horn announced the news during CinemaCon they would begin to roll out Star Wars films starting in 2015 with main series films expected every other year, while in-between those main films we’ll see character-focused films. In other words, we can expect Star Wars: Episode 7 to be release in 2015, then a character-focused film in 2016, Episode 8 in 2017, and so on. (more…)
By Ubergizmo. Related articles: Digital Public Library Of America Beta Web Portal Launched, Sprint Announces LTE Expansion In 21 New Markets, 
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When Disney acquired Lucasfilm back in October and announced Star Wars Episode VII, we knew right away that the long-time franchise was about to be heavily kickstarted, and we were certainly right. Today, Disney announced at CinemaCon that a new Star Wars movie will be released every summer starting in 2015 with Episode VII.
We’ve known for some time that there are going to be multiple Star Wars film in the future, including standalone films, but today’s news is certainly a new development. We’ve even been teased with Star Wars Episode VIII, which isn’t announced yet, but there will surely be a move to come after Episode VII.
The Disney films of the movies and the standalone films are said to alternative summers, meaning that Episode VIII would come out in 2017, with Episode IX releasing in 2019. The years in between would be the standalone films that will focus on individual characters in the Star Wars universe, such as Yoda, Han Solo, and Boba Fett.
Star Trek director JJ Abrams is on board to direct Star Wars Episode VII, with the script being written by Michael Arndt, who penned movies like Little Miss Sunshine, Toy Story 3, and Brave. He also wrote the screenplay for The Hunger Games sequel Catching Fire. Several actors from the original Star Wars trilogy are also reported to be returning for this latest movie.
[via Coming Soon]
Disney planning new Star Wars films every summer starting in 2015 is written by Craig Lloyd & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.
Imagine what we can do with 1,000 times more Moore’s Law horsepower. There’s almost certainly that much life left in it. Catmull and I and our colleagues did the movies, but I can’t even imagine what other innovators will do. …
Don’t tell Mandarin, but Tony Stark relocated his Hall of Armors to Disneyland’s Innoventions area in Tommorowland for the meantime. But being the carefree dude that he is, Tony is actually letting people into the exhibit. Either that or the security at Disneyland is a lot tougher than I thought.
As you walk through the room, Tony’s virtual butler JARVIS will tell you all about the various armors, including the Mk. XLII that will be featured in the upcoming Iron Man 3. Speaking of armors, you’ll also be able to put on one of his suits through an augmented reality interface. Here’s a brief tour of the exhibit taken by YouTuber mrdaps:
Again, the exhibit will only be up for a limited time, so visit the park ASAP before Tony decides to hide his armor somewhere else.
[via The Fire Wire]
One of the most iconic 2D platforms of the 16-bit generation had to be Castle of Illusion Starring Mickey Mouse. It seems if you or anyone else owned a SEGA Genesis, then they also had this great platformer, which is why both Disney and SEGA are teaming up once again to create a remake of the game to be released this summer.
Disney Castle of Illusion Starring Mickey Mouse will be made available as a digital download on the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and PC and will feature improved controls, music and graphics as the game will be built from the found up. (more…)
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Steve Jobs has always been fascinating as a figure. Various stories about his presentation style and how he worked have been widely reported and read. For some, who have merely scratched the surface of his personality, Steve Jobs is only the visionary who made and then decades later turned Apple around. Jobs had a significant role in the formation of Pixar Animation Studios, it is no secret that he kept the studio afloat by pumping in millions of dollars of his own money till they were able to release Toy Story. This was Pixar’s first feature film and it become a major hit. Years later he sold Pixar to Disney for some $4 billion in shares.
By Ubergizmo. Related articles: Apple To Pay $53 Million In iPhone Warranty Lawsuit, LED Backlight In Next-Gen iPad A Possibility, 
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It is no secret that Disney and News Corp. have been looking into selling video-streaming service Hulu, with sources having dropped information over the past weeks about what is happening behind the scenes. Word had it the two companies were, at one point, looking at buying out the other to take control of the service, and then sources said they were entertaining potential buyers. Now individuals who are said to be familiar with the happenings have stated that News Corps.’ former president has placed a bid.
Peter Chernin was one of the individuals responsible for the early days of Hulu, and now it seems, if the sources are correct, that he has returned with a bid for the service. Chernin left Hulu back in 2009 to start The Chernin Group, which has holdings in a number of companies, including the popular online music streaming service Pandora.
His bid is said to be approximately $500 million, but neither his people, Disney, or News Corp. would comment on the rumor. Word has it that Disney and News Corp. have reached out to multiple potential buyers, but the two sources who provided this information do not know if any other bids have been placed for Hulu. All of this comes as methods for monetizing the service and taking it in a solid direction have been pondered.
Per past sources, News Corp. was leaning towards a model for Hulu that involved subscriptions as the primary way of monetizing the service, using something like the currently-implemented Hulu Plus service. Disney had different ideas, however, leaning more towards an advertisement-based model that would depend on advertisements, something the service also utilizes. For a long while, the two companies were unsure of whether they would sell the service, but if the sources are correct, it would seem they are close to making a decision.
[via Reuters]
Former News Corp. president reportedly places $500 million bid for Hulu is written by Brittany Hillen & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.
When we learned that Disney was purchasing the Star Wars Empire from George Lucas, it was rather bittersweet. Lucas hasn’t had the best track record with adding new films to the Star Wars franchise. We knew that new films will be coming in the Star Wars universe from Disney, but most fans we feared that Disney would ruin the franchise.
Yesterday we reported that Disney was closing down the LucasArts game development studio. LucasArts and partner developers have delivered some of the coolest video games for Star Wars fans over the years such as Jedi Academy and Jedi Knight 2: Jedi Outcast. Those classic video games were worked on with LucasArts and a company called Raven Software.
Raven Software has announced as of today that it is releasing the source code for the vintage third-person Star Wars action games Jedi Academy and Jedi Knight 2: Jedi Outcast. Raven says that was saddened to hear about the closing of LucasArts this week and that it had enjoyed working with LucasArts over the years.
Raven for says that as a gift for the loyalty of the fan base for the Jedi games and in memory of LucasArts it is offering up the source code for both games for people to “enjoy and play with.” Both of these games are built on the Quake 3 engine with Jedi Outcast launching in 2002 and Jedi Academy launching in 2003. If you miss those games, you can check out a video showing some of the Jedi Academy multiple player game play below.
[via Eurogamer]
Raven Software releases source code for Jedi Academy and Jedi Knight 2: Jedi Outcast is written by Shane McGlaun & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.
You might say the day is never really done in consumer technology news. Your workday, however, hopefully draws to a close at some point. This is the Daily Roundup on Engadget, a quick peek back at the top headlines for the past 24 hours — all handpicked by the editors here at the site. Click on through the break, and enjoy.
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