Did you ever wonder what it might be like to be able to see into the future? Well, as I wandered up & down the aisles at Licensing International Expo 2009, I got a little taste of what that must feel like. As I came upon promotional display after promotional display for motion pictures that would be " ... coming soon to a theater near you."
In some cases, I was only able to look a few days ahead. Take -- for example -- "Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen." Which opens on June 24th.
Photo by Jim Hill
In other cases, I was able to peer several weeks into the future. Like with "G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra." Which bows at your local multiplex on August 7th.
Photo by Jim Hill
Or -- in the case of "Astro Boy" (which premieres on October 23rd) -- I could see a full four months ahead.
Photo by Jim Hill
But the real thrill of attending Licensing International Expo 2009 was this event was where the studios try to get buyers interested in productions for 2010 and beyond. So while Fox may have been talking up "Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakuel" last week ...
Copyright 2009 Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation &
Bagdasarian Productions, LLC. All Rights Reserved
... (Which -- when this Betty Thomas movie bows on Christmas day -- will feature the big screen debut of CG versions of Brittany, Eleanor and Jeanette. AKA the Chipettes) ...
Copyright 2009 Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation &
Bagdasarian Productions, LLC. All Rights Reserved
... What Fox's Licensing Department was really trying to get toy manufacturers & t-shirt makers excited about was the fact that they were now working with Walden Media to produce the third film in "The Chronicles of Narnia" series, "The Voyage of the Dawn Treader." Which is expected to sail into theaters just in time for the 2010 holiday season.
Photo by Jim Hill
And speaking of the 2010 holiday season, that's when Sony Pictures Animation expects to roll out its live action / CG "Smurfs" movie. Which this studio hyped last week by building a human-sized Smurf house right there in the middle of the convention center at the Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino.
Photo by Jim Hill
2010 looks to be a very big year for CG. What with DreamWorks Animation's "How to Train Your Dragon" swooping into cinemas next March ...
Copyright 2009 Dreamworks Animation LLC. All Rights Reserved
... while the fourth film in the "Shrek" series -- "Shrek Forever After" -- premieres on May 21, 2010.
Copyright 2009 Dreamworks Animation LLC. All Rights Reserved
Seven weeks later, Universal Studios rolls out its first 3D CG animated film, "Despicable Me." Which will feature Steve Carrell as the voice of Groo, a would-be super villain who plans on stealing the moon.
Copyright 2009 Universal Studios. All Rights Reserved
And speaking of comic super villains ... Next November, DreamWorks Animation releases "Oobermind." Which will feature Robert Downey Jr. as the voice of a super villain who doesn't know quite what to do with himself after he accidentally kills his archrival, Uberman.
Copyright 2009 Dreamworks Animation LLC. All Rights Reserved
Then comes 2011, when the studios start to get serious about super heroes once more with the fourth installment of the "Spider-Man" film series as well as 20th Century Fox's reboot of its "Fantastic Four" film franchise. Which will reportedly feature an all-new cast as well as a far darker take on this classic Marvel comic.
Copyright 2009 Columbia Pictures Industries,
Inc., MARVEL & Marvel Characters, Inc.
All Rights Reserved
As for Mouse-related movie news coming out of this year's Licensing Show ... According to some folks I spoke with at Classic Media (i.e. the company that actually licenses the rights for The Lone Ranger), Walt Disney Pictures & Jerry Bruckheimer Films appears to have finally chosen who will helm the epic western that they're hoping to have in theaters by the Summer of 2011. And that would be Mike Newell, the director of "Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire" as well as the upcoming "Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time."
Photo by Jim Hill
As for the eagerly anticipated sequel that was originally supposed to have been Walt Disney Pictures & Jerry Bruckheimer Films' tentpole release for the Summer of 2011 (i.e. "Pirates of the Caribbean 4"), that movie first slid to Holiday 2011 and is now tentatively slated for release in the Summer of 2012.
Which -- I know -- will depress a lot of you "Pirates" fans out there. Having to wait a whole 'another year before you then get to see Johnny Depp as Captain Jack Sparrow again. So let me try & cheer you up by revealing that -- in addition to "Toy Story 3" and "Cars 2" -- Pixar Animation Studios has yet another sequel in the works.
"Which Pixar picture?," you ask. Well, though the buyers who attended these particular preview sessions were first sworn to secrecy by Disney officials, several immediately reached out to me afterwards to say how thrilled they were to learn that Pete Docter will be following up "Up" with a sequel to "Monsters, Inc."
As for the proposed storyline of this yet-to-be-officially-announced Pixar sequel ... Sorry. But I'm not able to see that far into the future. Not yet, anyway. Maybe after I attend Licensing Expo International 2010, I can then share a few more tidbits about this "Monsters, Inc." follow-up.
You thoughts?
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