Sure, you've seen "The Lion King" dozens of times. You own the soundtrack and you've caught the Broadway show. Maybe you even had "Lion King" sheets and went to bed singing "Hakuna Matata."
And what "Lion King" fan doesn't know about the scene where stars supposedly spell out "Sex"? We bet there are still some things you didn't know about the beloved Disney classic, which turns 20 on June 15.
1. When writer Irene Mecchi was hired, she was told that the story pitch was "'Bambi in Africa' meets 'Hamlet,'" so she started calling it "Bamlet."
2. Disney believed that "Pocahontas" (which came out in 1995) would be the bigger, more prestigious film and put all its key animators on it instead. Story artist Brenda Chapman (who went on to direct "Brave" and "The Prince of Egypt") thought the story "wasn't very good" and writer Burny Mattinson declared, "I don't know who is...
And what "Lion King" fan doesn't know about the scene where stars supposedly spell out "Sex"? We bet there are still some things you didn't know about the beloved Disney classic, which turns 20 on June 15.
1. When writer Irene Mecchi was hired, she was told that the story pitch was "'Bambi in Africa' meets 'Hamlet,'" so she started calling it "Bamlet."
2. Disney believed that "Pocahontas" (which came out in 1995) would be the bigger, more prestigious film and put all its key animators on it instead. Story artist Brenda Chapman (who went on to direct "Brave" and "The Prince of Egypt") thought the story "wasn't very good" and writer Burny Mattinson declared, "I don't know who is...
- 6/14/2014
- by Sharon Knolle
- Moviefone
There’s no doubt that competition to land the big directing jobs in Hollywood is fierce in this economy. Director Bryan Barber (Idlewild) has decided to take a more proactive approach and is now bringing a project that fits right into the context of Transformers and Real Steel to the studios.
Deadline reports that Barber wants to bring Gigantor, the 1960’s Japanese cartoon import, back to the silver screen for new generations of children to enjoy. Barber grew up watching Gigantor and tracked down the rights to Fred Ladd, an 86-year old voice-over artist. After a long courtship with Ladd, a detailed storyboard presentation sold the project to Ladd. Barber now controls the movie, merchandise and videogame rights to Gigantor and will, of course, direct the film.
Barber describes his Gigantor to be “Transformers meets Goonies:”
“There’s a film here that doesn’t take itself too seriously, with heart and visual effects,...
Deadline reports that Barber wants to bring Gigantor, the 1960’s Japanese cartoon import, back to the silver screen for new generations of children to enjoy. Barber grew up watching Gigantor and tracked down the rights to Fred Ladd, an 86-year old voice-over artist. After a long courtship with Ladd, a detailed storyboard presentation sold the project to Ladd. Barber now controls the movie, merchandise and videogame rights to Gigantor and will, of course, direct the film.
Barber describes his Gigantor to be “Transformers meets Goonies:”
“There’s a film here that doesn’t take itself too seriously, with heart and visual effects,...
- 10/24/2011
- by Lillian 'zenbitch' Standefer
- ScifiMafia
This is kind of a funny story whether you know what a 'Gigantor' is or not. Deadline reports that director Bryan Barber is so fed up with losing out on directing jobs that he has bought the rights to 'Gigantor' from an elderly man, and is placing himself at the helm of a $60 million live-action adaptation. He's being smart with the live-action approach. The animated robot route didn't play out very well for the similarly themed 2009 film, 'Astro Boy.' As for 'Gigantor,' it's a nothing story about a superhero-like (and gigantic) robot who combats various threats such as aliens and criminals. But in an industry that is currently enchanted with robots in general, giant robot rights are a good thing to be holding. Barber calls his vision for the film "'Transformers' meets 'Goonies.'"With very little to his name as a director besides the crime/musical,...
- 10/21/2011
- LRMonline.com
Director Bryan Barber has taken control of his own destiny with next project in Gigantor. Deadline reports that the video director-turned film director of 2006's Idlewild has secured movie, merchandise and video game rights to the family-friendly film about the giant flying robot. The deal came together after courting the 86-year old voiceover artist who controlled the rights. With all the Transformers news this week and the very likely Real Steel sequel on the horizon this project sounds good to me. The story focuses on "a 12-year old boy who ends up with the controls to the giant weaponized world-saving robot."
Idelewild was not a financial hit at the box office, and as a result the offers Barber received were more art house instead of the blockbuster movies he wants to direct. Here is what he had to say about his choice to pursue Gigantor:
“Shortly after my film came out,...
Idelewild was not a financial hit at the box office, and as a result the offers Barber received were more art house instead of the blockbuster movies he wants to direct. Here is what he had to say about his choice to pursue Gigantor:
“Shortly after my film came out,...
- 10/21/2011
- by Tiberius
- GeekTyrant
Gigantor was a Japanese cartoon that aired in the U.S. in the mid sixties, ten years after its original release in Japan. The show chronicles the adventures of 12-year old Jimmy Sparks who has been given the remote control to the giant robot Gigantor, which was built by his Uncle, Dr. Bob Brilliant, to prevent war and stop crime. The cartoon was brought over after the successful translation of the Japanese cartoon Astro Boy. These “Pre-Anime” cartoons paved the way for the proliferation of anime in the United States later on. These shows are reminiscent of American cartoons from the same period, but feature early versions of the visual motifs and storytelling elements that would become standards for anime in the future.
In certain ways Gigantor paved the way for most of the Japanese animation we see today. First and foremost, Gigantor is one the first anime series about giant robots,...
In certain ways Gigantor paved the way for most of the Japanese animation we see today. First and foremost, Gigantor is one the first anime series about giant robots,...
- 9/30/2009
- by Michael Epstein
- JustPressPlay.net
Retro - relating to, reviving, or being the styles and especially the fashions of the past: fashionably nostalgic or old-fashioned. (Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary)
Don’t you hate things that start with the definition of a word? I hope you won’t chalk this up to pretension when I say I realized while watching Gigantor that I didn’t really know exactly what “retro” meant. What is this obsession a lot of us have with old things? Is it some semblance of nostalgia passed down from our parents? A willingness to make a connection to a different time period, if only momentarily? Or maybe you think vinyl will always sound better than an MP3 (which it does, most of the time.)
I didn’t grow up with Gigantor but my own oft-retro sensibilities drew me to it, expecting a defining series for American anime. Adapted from the influential Mitsuteru Yokoyama manga...
Don’t you hate things that start with the definition of a word? I hope you won’t chalk this up to pretension when I say I realized while watching Gigantor that I didn’t really know exactly what “retro” meant. What is this obsession a lot of us have with old things? Is it some semblance of nostalgia passed down from our parents? A willingness to make a connection to a different time period, if only momentarily? Or maybe you think vinyl will always sound better than an MP3 (which it does, most of the time.)
I didn’t grow up with Gigantor but my own oft-retro sensibilities drew me to it, expecting a defining series for American anime. Adapted from the influential Mitsuteru Yokoyama manga...
- 5/17/2009
- by Mark Zhuravsky
- JustPressPlay.net
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