October 25, 2001

Entertainment News

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Toys in the Attic

With their lovable characters and fanciful, nostalgic charm, how can you not love Disney’s Toy Story movies? Apparently, Disney Chairperson Michael Eisner has found a way. The Los Angeles Times is reporting that Eisner is currently at odds with Pixar Chairperson Steve Jobs over a business matter that could prevent the production of another Toy Story sequel.

A clause in the two companies’ deal requires Pixar to deliver three more original films by 2005. Sequels don’t count as part of the deal. Jobs has asked Eisner to waive the no-sequel clause, but Eisner has refused. “The next three films are spoken for … We wanted to make Toy Story 3, but in the current deal it’s not going to happen,” Jobs said in an interview with the Los Angeles Times.

“The reality is everyone would like to make Toy Story 3,” commented Disney animation chief Tom Schumacher.

So remember, the key to running a successful business is to ignore what everybody wants.

Jack in Black

Hot off of his performance in his recent movie-esque video, “You Rock My World,” Michael Jackson has been tapped by director Barry Sonnenfeld to appear in the sequel to Men in Black. Anticipating smart-ass reporters and talk show hosts around the globe, a spokesperson for the film has already announced that Jackson will not be playing a space alien. Jacko is no stranger to science fiction and special effects, having ample experience after playing a starfaring adventurer in Disney’s Captain EO, and dealing with sister La Toya, who has more make-up and prosthetic enhancements on her than the entire cast of Star Wars combined.

Jar Jar Bucks

George Lucas is at the top of the game, at least in terms of DVD sales. Star Wars: Episode I — The Phantom Menace sold 2.2 million copies in its first week, topping a record set by The Mummy Returns just two weeks ago. The Star Wars prequel pulled in nearly $45 million in sales since its release last week.

Hardcore Star Wars fans have been wetting themselves for months over the DVD version of The Phantom Menace, despite almost universal agreement that the movie sucked. The two-disc set features six hours of additional goodies, including special effects documentaries and new footage. The 10-minute clip of the full, unedited pod-race scene has led to the hospitalization of several fans, who collapsed twitching from bliss overload.

‘Docked

Cartoonist Aaron McGruder and his popular comic “The Boondocks” have become the center of the latest battle over free speech. McGruder’s strips dealing with America’s response to the Sept. 11 attacks has prompted some newspapers to pull the comic from the funny pages. The Daily News in New York yanked the strip on Oct. 4 and has published it only once since, evaluating the comic on a day-to-day basis.

“The paper feels that heavy-duty politics doesn’t belong in the funny pages, and when the strip returns to a milder line, we’ll reinstitute it,” said Daily News spokesman Ken Frydman.

“But this isn’t some broad argument about the role of comic strips as much as it is about the control of information,” McGruder responded in an interview last week. “It’s this notion that in a time of crisis we need to be less critical of our leadership that I just think is ass backwards.”

Yet another example of people thinking the best way to defend freedom is by limiting expression. Is logic a four-letter word in newspapers now?

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