Minor Avatar Update: Joe Rohde & James Cameron Tour AK

[nytimez]

New Disney Parks blog:

James Cameron Explores Disney’s Animal Kingdom as Development of First AVATAR-Themed Land Continues

 

[Figment632]

What was new?

 

[nytimez]

What was new?

Oh, I don't know... new blog post, new photos, new quotes and the fact that Rohde and Cameron are together at AK.

Not every post is going to make all your dreams come true.

 

[Disco]

OMG,
Safety vests with leashes to keep them from falling into the alligator pit!
That made my day.

 

[nytimez]

OMG,
Safety vests with leashes to keep them from falling into the alligator pit!
That made my day.

I know -- how funny is that?

On the other hand, imagine the headlines: James Cameron Eaten By Disney Gators.

 

[Figment632]

New Disney Parks blog:

James Cameron Explores Disney’s Animal Kingdom as Development of First AVATAR-Themed Land Continues

Ok I wouldn't call quotes and update but whatever floats your boat.

 

[nytimez]

Ok I wouldn't call quotes and update but whatever floats your boat.

You're right. Next time I'll run it by you first.

 

[Roger Dearly]

Not every post is going to make all your dreams come true.

Epic

 

[skier_pete]

Anyone see this in a correlary article? on "the playlist":

http://blogs.indiewire.com/theplayl...ture_site_of_avatar_land_looks_at_crocodiles/

The “Avatar” land is also one of a handful of movie-themed projects at the Florida parks. As we speak Disney is hammering away on a deal with George Lucas to expand the Star Tours attraction at Disney’s Hollywood Studios into an entire expanded “land,” and the popular “Muppet Vision 3D” film at the same park will see a similar expansion should this Thanksgiving’s “The Muppets” film take off the way the studio is hoping. (Still, there’s something to be said about counting your chickens – there are probably drawers full of sketches for projects that would center around last year’s expensive flop “TRON Legacy.”) At least, as the actual photos of Cameron touring the facility indicate, we know that Pandora will be coming to Central Florida.

No real "source" for these quotes - so could be meaningless...but interesting none-the-less.

SP

 

[ASteelersMidget]

Anyone see this in a correlary article? on "the playlist":

http://blogs.indiewire.com/theplayl...ture_site_of_avatar_land_looks_at_crocodiles/



No real "source" for these quotes - so could be meaningless...but interesting none-the-less.

SP

I do Hope the Muppet's land is still a possibility. The movie has me really excited. I hope it spurs Disney to do more with The Muppets in and around the parks!

 

[nytimez]

Anyone see this in a correlary article? on "the playlist":

http://blogs.indiewire.com/theplayl...ture_site_of_avatar_land_looks_at_crocodiles/



No real "source" for these quotes - so could be meaningless...but interesting none-the-less.

SP

Interesting -- thanks for the link. I don't know this guy or his track record... does he have a source, or did he just sum up what he read on a bunch of message boards?

The Muppet thing throws everything he wrote into doubt. I'd love to see a Muppet Land -- but I think there's no chance of that happening no matter how well the movie does.

 

[ASteelersMidget]

Interesting -- thanks for the link. I don't know this guy or his track record... does he have a source, or did he just sum up what he read on a bunch of message boards?

The Muppet thing throws everything he wrote into doubt. I'd love to see a Muppet Land -- but I think there's no chance of that happening no matter how well the movie does.

I "hear" what your saying. I believe it is the opposite. Disney owns the rights to the muppets so they don't have to come to an agreement and pay another entity for the name like they would have to with Lucas and Star wars/Indiana Jones.

Don't forget, the less Disney pays the more likely it happens.

 

[nytimez]

I "hear" what your saying. I believe it is the opposite. Disney owns the rights to the muppets so they don't have to come to an agreement and pay another entity for the name like they would have to with Lucas and Star wars/Indiana Jones.

Don't forget, the less Disney pays the more likely it happens.

They own lots of things, but don't build extensive theme park lands based on them.

Look, I'm a huge Muppets fan -- I'd love to see this happen. But I don't think it will.

I also don't think we'll see a Lucas Land, which I'd also love to see, and I especially don't think we'll see both -- which the story suggests is a real possibility.

 

[Figment632]

They are crazy for not building a Star Wars land. It would draw much better than Avatar.

Anyway don't hold your breath the parks that need it the most DhS and EC will be neglected for some time due to Avatar and FLE.

It sad Epcot even though FW is the worst it has ever been is still too good for its own good. It is till the third most visited themepark in the world I beleive so it will continue to get worse

The only things up to Disney standards in FW currently are Nemo and MS.

 

[skier_pete]

Oh, I don't believe that article is true - and anyone can write anything and post it on the internet, but while I think Pandora could be great, I do agree that a true Star Wars Land would be HUGE. WAY bigger than Harry Potter, as Star Wars is approaching 3rd generation of fan-boys. Muppets to me makes almost no sense. If you think about the current Muppetvision 3-D, the show only makes sense if you've seen the original Muppet Show. Most kids today have not. Whether the movie brings the muppets back into the collective youth awareness is not certain, and even if it does I don't think it justifies a major theme park expansion.

 

[nytimez]

Oh, I don't believe that article is true - and anyone can write anything and post it on the internet, but while I think Pandora could be great, I do agree that a true Star Wars Land would be HUGE. WAY bigger than Harry Potter, as Star Wars is approaching 3rd generation of fan-boys. Muppets to me makes almost no sense. If you think about the current Muppetvision 3-D, the show only makes sense if you've seen the original Muppet Show. Most kids today have not. Whether the movie brings the muppets back into the collective youth awareness is not certain, and even if it does I don't think it justifies a major theme park expansion.

You have to wonder how much of a role Lucas has in the fact that they haven't built a Star Wars Land. Is he too difficult to work with on that scale? Does he want too much? Is there some other issue?

I have to believe they've considered a Star Wars Land and the reason they don't have one -- the reason they didn't build one years ago -- has to be something more complex that they simply don't want a Star Wars Land.

That's just a guess, but...

 

[Mike730]

You have to wonder how much of a role Lucas has in the fact that they haven't built a Star Wars Land. Is he too difficult to work with on that scale? Does he want too much? Is there some other issue?

I have to believe they've considered a Star Wars Land and the reason they don't have one -- the reason they didn't build one years ago -- has to be something more complex that they simply don't want a Star Wars Land.

That's just a guess, but...

I totally Agree. Unless it's in the works right now, there has to be some reason why they havent tried to cash in on this popularity. There's something we don't know.

 

[skier_pete]

You have to wonder how much of a role Lucas has in the fact that they haven't built a Star Wars Land. Is he too difficult to work with on that scale? Does he want too much? Is there some other issue?

I have to believe they've considered a Star Wars Land and the reason they don't have one -- the reason they didn't build one years ago -- has to be something more complex that they simply don't want a Star Wars Land.

That's just a guess, but...

Yeah, I always assumed it was "doesn't want to pay the licensing fees", but licensing Avatar sort of shoots that idea down...unless Lucas' licensing requests are silly...like "Lucasfilm gets 80% of all profits" or something, and they just don't want to spend the coin to build it if the profits all go back to Lucas.

 

[doconeill]

Yeah, I always assumed it was "doesn't want to pay the licensing fees", but licensing Avatar sort of shoots that idea down...unless Lucas' licensing requests are silly...like "Lucasfilm gets 80% of all profits" or something, and they just don't want to spend the coin to build it if the profits all go back to Lucas.

Well, they could just use "Hollywood" accounting, so that it would never actually turn a profit even if it boosted attendance 1000%...

 

[nytimez]

Yeah, I always assumed it was "doesn't want to pay the licensing fees", but licensing Avatar sort of shoots that idea down...unless Lucas' licensing requests are silly...like "Lucasfilm gets 80% of all profits" or something, and they just don't want to spend the coin to build it if the profits all go back to Lucas.

It could be Lucas has some combination of financial and creative demands that exceed what they're willing to give -- that exceed what they're giving Cameron.

I don't know how lucrative the deal is for Cameron, and I'm sure he's going to get significant money. But I think it's entirely possible that Lucas would want much more than what Cameron is getting.

For example, Cameron is not getting a piece of the gate (from what I've read) and you can see why Disney wouldn't want to part with that.

What if that's one of Lucas's demands -- a piece of the gate if Disney wants an entire Star Wars Land? That's what Spielberg gets from Universal -- and we know the two are close. Maybe he sees something like for himself before he's willing to sign off on any additional Lucas-themed projects for Disney parks.