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Digital Media FX News Archives

Saturday - September 1, 2001
- Special on Walt Disney Coming September 16
- Friday Box Office Report
- Animation Dominates Top Five Video Sales
- News Link of the Day - Religion and Simpsons Fine Pair

Special on Walt Disney Coming September 16
(by digitalmediafx.com) On September 16, ABC will air a special on Walt Disney, the man, titled "Walt: The Man Behind the Myth." The new two hour documentary/film is based on all-new interviews with friends, family and collaborators and featuring excerpts from Walt's never-before-seen home movies. It will air on Sunday, September 16 (7:00-9:00 p.m., ET/PST), as part "Wonderful World of Disney" on ABC. The film was initiated by Diane Disney Miller, daughter of Walt Disney, to commemorate the 100th anniversary of Walt Disney's birth in 2001.

The two-hour film relates the story of many Disney innovations, including the first Disney cartoon with sound ("Steamboat Willie"), the first cartoon in color ("Flowers and Trees") and, most importantly, the story behind 'Disney's Folly,' the mammoth project to produce the first feature-length animated cartoon, "Snow White."

The film also reveals the lesser-known saga of how the studio faced near-bankruptcy in the wake of a strike and World War II; how Walt skimped and saved, and even cashed in his family's life insurance, in order to finance the early development of Disneyland; how the Disney Studio broke the Hollywood taboo of early television, and how, in his final days, Walt was fully devoted to building a city of the future near what is today Walt Disney World in Orlando, Florida.

The film is produced by Pantheon Productions in Los Angeles. Walt's grandson, Walter Elias Disney Miller, is executive producer of the film. The film is written by two nationally known journalists -- Katherine and Richard Greene -- and award-winning writer/filmmaker Jean-Pierre Isbouts. Katherine and Richard Greene are authors of numerous articles and books, including "Walt Disney: The Man Behind the Magic" and the upcoming book "Inside the Dream." Isbouts, the writer/producer of "Oracles of the Future," "Terror on the Titanic," "The Women of Manet" and "David Frost's Inside the Cold War," also directed the film.

To present Walt's life and legacy as accurately as possible, the producers shot more than 70 new interviews with colleagues, friends and family of Walt Disney, including animation legends Joe Grant, Ward Kimball, John Hench, Frank Thomas, Ollie Johnston and Marc Davis (who died 6 weeks after his interview). Diane Disney Miller and Roy E. Disney, vice-chairman of Walt Disney Studios, are also featured.

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Friday Box Office Report
(by digitalmediafx.com) There were no animated or visual effects movies in the top 10 for Friday's box office. As it is a holiday weekend, many studios have increased the number of theaters playing older movies like Pearl Harbor and Atlantis: The Lost Empire.

Here are Friday's top five movies:

1. Jeepers Creepers - $4.3 Million
2. Rush Hour 2 - $2.5 Million
3. American Pie 2 - $2.4 Million
4. The Others - $2.3 Million
5. Rat Race - $1.9 Million

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Animation Dominates Top 5 Video Sales
(by digitalmediafx.com) Last week's top video sales were dominated by movies that were fully animated or contained some animation. Here's the top five video sales list, in order:

1. Recess: School's Out (animated)
2. The Book Of Pooh: Stories From The Heart (live action / puppets / animation)
3. Rugrats: All Growed Up (animated)
4. The Little Bear Movie (animated)
5. The Emperor's New Groove (animated)

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News Link of the Day - Religion and Simpsons Fine Pair

According to CNN:

"...For 12 seasons and counting, the animated series [The Simpsons] has mined religious subjects for laughs like no other show on television.

The staple of the Fox network has sometimes been called sacrilegious -- rather than satirical -- for its jabs at clergy and the faithful alike. But religious commentators, especially this year, have looked at the animated series and found plenty to like..."

Click here for the full story.

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These news articles and all digitalmediafx.com content are ©copyright 2001 by Joe Tracy and may not be reused for any purpose without expressed written consent of the author and Digital Media FX. All rights reserved.