Variety is reporting that ESPN.com’s test of offering Chicago its own localized version of information from the sports news giant has been so successful, that it’s moving on to other markets. Dallas is expected to launch in October while New York City and Los Angeles will follow in 1Q ’10. In addition to extended coverage of local sports including at the high school level, each site will have its own short form of SportsCenter.
‘Wizards of Waverly Place’ Soundtrack Features Selena Gomez, Honor Society, KSM, Mitchel Musso and More!
BURBANK, Calif. — There’s magic in the air as Walt Disney Records is set to release the new CD, Wizards of Waverly Place. Inspired by the Emmy-nominated hit Disney Channel series starring Selena Gomez, as well as the upcoming Disney Channel Original Movie of the same name, the Wizards of Waverly Place album features brand new songs and interpretations of classic tracks from the ‘60s, ‘70s and ‘80s, each one about magic. The CD arrives in stores August 4, while “Wizards of Waverly Place The Movie” premieres on Disney Channel August 28.
With the show recently ranked as the No. 1 TV series for kids, anticipation for the “Wizards of Waverly Place” film and soundtrack is running high. The CD includes several new songs performed by series star Selena Gomez, including “Disappear,” the rock ballad “Magical,” the show’s theme song “Everything is Not as it Seems” and a new version of Pilot’s 1975 Top 10 Hit “Magic.” The CD features exclusive behind-the-scenes interviews with Selena, plus her all-new music video.
Disney’s Animal Kingdom Testing New Centralized FASTPASS Distribution
It’s being reported that from opening until 3 pm for the rest of the week, Disney’s Animal Kingdom is attempting a new FASTPASS distribution system where guests can obtain a FASTPASS for any attraction from one location in particular, the machines at It’s Tough to Be A Bug.
Guests who are unaware of the testing will not be affected as other FASTPASS machines will be operating at this time as normal.
Disneyland Resort Introduces Summer Nightastic! PhotoPass Cards Offering Discounts
Disneyland Resort now offers Summer Nightastic! branded PhotoPass cards that include a discount for either either $10 off the PhotoCD when purchased online, or free shipping.
(and if anyone can send me a decent scan of one, I’d greatly appreciate it!)
Source: D23
First Look: Character Profiles for Stan Lee’s Time Jumper!
Disney has graciously provided us with the following artwork for the upcoming joint project with Stan Lee’s POW! Entertainment, Time Jumper (see link for more information).
As always, you can click on any thumbnail to see a larger version or click on the PicLens link to start the slideshow. Enjoy, true believers!
Images © Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment. All Rights Reserved.
Disney Book Group to Publish Original Graphic Novel Based on ‘Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time’
LOS ANGELES — Disney Book Group announced today the Prince of Persia graphic novel anthology, the first-ever graphic novel written by the creator of Prince of Persia, Jordan Mechner. Todd McFarlane (Spawn, Spider-man) created exclusive art to be featured on the cover, and interior art will include some of the most talented names in comics.
The 128-page graphic novel, a full-color action-adventure anthology featuring six original stories, is a prequel to “Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time,” the feature film to be released by Walt Disney Pictures and Jerry Bruckheimer Films on May 28, 2010. The Prince of Persia graphic novel anthology will publish in April 2010 simultaneously in hardcover and paperback with a 125,000 first print run.
“We are thrilled to publish Jordan Mechner’s book debut,” said Jon Yaged, vice president, U.S. publisher, Disney Book Group. “We have developed a fantastic publishing program for the Prince of Persia film release and this graphic novel is an incredible cornerstone.”
Disney Interactive Studios Deploys G-Force on Mission to Retail Shelves
BURBANK, Calif. — A unique group of pint-sized heroes is ready to save the world. G-Force, the video game inspired by the highly anticipated feature film “G-Force” from Walt Disney Pictures and Jerry Bruckheimer Films, is available now at all major retailers.
G-Force is available on Wii™, Xbox 360® video game and entertainment system from Microsoft, PLAYSTATION®3 computer entertainment system, PlayStation®2 computer entertainment system, PSP® (PlayStation®Portable) system, Nintendo DS™ and Windows-based PC.
G-Force is the first game for next-generation systems to fully feature three-dimensional game play. On the Xbox 360 and PLAYSTATION 3 system versions, players can turn on the 3-D features at any point throughout the game to experience the special 3-D features while wearing 3-D glasses. Every G-Force game for those two systems comes with two pairs of special 3-D glasses.
Disney and Comics Legend Stan Lee Present Time Jumper Digital Comic Series; Premieres on iTunes July 24
BURBANK, Calif., July 21 — Legendary comic book creator Stan Lee’s POW! Entertainment, together with Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment, today announced the release of an all new original digital motion comic series, Time Jumper, available exclusively on the iTunes store (www.iTunes.com), beginning July 24, 2009.
From the same visionary co-creator of Spider-Man, X-Men, Iron Man, The Hulk and Fantastic Four, comes a thrillingly modern tale about a young man who jumps through time and engages viewers in a multi-dimensional, multi-platform universe. Freed from the constraints of the traditional print comic book format, consumers can finally look forward to enjoying this adventure through a variety of popular media formats rolling-out over the next two years including, but not limited to, online, mobile, DVD, publishing and more.
New Hi-Res Portraits from Tim Burton’s Alice in Wonderland and Your Chance to See Teaser Trailer
It’s not news, I know, but Disney has sent us hi-res images of the portraits of the Alice in Wonderland characters from the Vanity Fair photo shoot. Although the Red Queen portrait differs from the ones previously released online as she’s not holding the Duchess’ baby/pig.
I did crop the images to eliminate some whitespace on the top and bottom in order to maximize the real estate. They’ve been added to the Alice in Wonderland image gallery below.
In addition, Disney has added some graphics to the original group of portraits as pictured to the left so I’ve added those images to the gallery as well.
You can click on any of the thumbnails to view a larger image or click on the PicLens link to start a slideshow.
First Look: Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time Teaser Poster
Disney has sent us a teaser poster for the upcoming Jerry Bruckheimer highly-anticipated blockbuster Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time starring Jake Gyllenhaal. The film is set to be released in North America on May 28, 2010.
As always, you can click on the smaller image to reveal its full size. If it doesn’t fit on your screen at full size, you can click on the resize arrows in the lower-right hand corner.
