Disney Chief Announces New 'Star Wars' Theme Parks

Disney's Bob Iger announced "Star Wars"-themed lands in Disney's Orlando and Anaheim Parks at D23 Expo in Anaheim.

"We're building a 14-acre Star Wars land at Disneyland," Iger told the crowd.

Iger said the new land will be "occupied by many inhabitants; humanoids, aliens and droids ... the attraction, the entertainment, everything we create will be part of our storytelling. Nothing will be out of character or stray from the mythology."

There will be a cantina where fans can "run into all the droids and roaming beasts 'Star Wars is known for," including characters from the "Star Wars" saga and "The Force Awakens."

According to Iger, the land will have two signature attractions, including a ride where fans can take the controls of the Millennium Falcon "on a customized secret mission," and an experience that drops attendees into "a climactic battle between the First Order and the resistance."

One themed land will be located at Disneyworld's Orlando-based "Hollywood Studios" theme park, and the other at Disneyland in Anaheim.

"We are creating a jaw dropping new world that represents our largest single theme land expansion ever. We knew it needed to be big. We knew it needed to be great and we knew it needed to be every bit as thrilling as the films will be."

Every store and restaurant will be operated by local inhabitants. Nothing in the land nothing will be out of character."

He noted that they are "currently casting for roles" to staff the new attractions.

Latest News Update

Director J.J. Abrams was also on hand with "Star Wars: The Force Awakens" cast members Daisy Ridley, John Boyega, Oscar Isaac, Lupita Nyong'o and Harrison Ford, who received a standing ovation from the 7,500-strong crowd on Saturday afternoon.

"It's a great thrill to be here with you, who made this whole thing happen, I couldn't be happier, thank you so much," Ford said.

On picking Abrams to direct, Iger quipped: "We knew we needed someone who was great. We new we needed someone we could trust. We knew we needed someone who had great casting sense. Unfortunately, that director wasn't available."

"You will have chance to run into drioids and fantastic roaming beasts that Star Wars is known for," Iger said, as a picture of a shaggy white, tusked creature was projected on the screen behind him.

Via: Newsmax

Continue Reading....

Darth Vader is for girls, too: the young fan who forced Disney to change toy labels

Star Wars fan Izzy Cornthwaite wanted a Darth Vader costume and lightsaber for her eighth birthday. But, upon exploring the UK Disney Store’s website with her mum, Rebecca, she was devastated to see that the outfit was listed as a “boys’ costume”. “Her face fell,” says Rebecca. Her eyes “filled with tears and she said ‘I can’t have it, it says they’re only for boys.’”

But Izzy decided not to take it lying down and, following a quick chat with her mother about gender stereotypes, she wrote to Disney to explain her sadness about how the costume was labelled.

About a week later, she received a reply: “The description for this costume has now been amended as we understand that all our little Jedis enjoy Star Wars.” Izzy went online to check for herself, and was delighted to find that it wasn’t only the description of the Darth Vader costume that had been changed – the wording on everything from costumes to toys, Disney Princess tutus to Hulk outfits was now labelled “for kids”, instead of being divided by gender.

FacebookTwitterPinterest

 The force is strong … Izzy as Darth Vader. Photograph: Rebecca Heyes

Izzy is not alone in liking toys such as cars and fire engines, as well as dolls, from a very young age. Yet all stores clearly define their products by gender – “If you visited a toy shop, you would actually see boys and girls going to their respectively gendered aisle,” says Rebecca. “Some might argue, ‘What does this matter?’” But Rebecca believes the impact of this early delineation doesn’t end in the toy aisle: “We know that women are underrepresented in many work roles and I feel very strongly that I don’t want Izzy to avoid a career later in her life because it is a ‘boy’s job’, when I know she is capable of doing anything she sets her heart on.”

Via: The Guardian

Continue Reading....

MSNBC Guest Calls Sarah Palin the ‘Jar Jar Binks’ of the GOP

The Ed Show’s guest host Michael Eric Dysont ook advantage of the news that Sarah Palin will be speaking at this weekend’s Iowa Faith and Freedom Conference to invite comedian John Fugelsang on the MSNBC show to give his take on her motives and generally mock her presidential prospects.

Fugelsang suspected that Palin primary goal is to “flog” her new book, Good Tidings and Great Joy: Protecting the Heart of Christmas “She’s getting in on the War on Christmas bandwagon about five years after Bill O’reilly made it trendy.” While he said it’s easy to “scoff” at Palin and call her “irrelevant,” there’s a reason why the MSNBC hosts were dedicating an entire segment to her.

“She does for the GOP what Jar Jar Binks did for Star Wars Episode 1,” Fugelsang continued. “She distracts the easily amused from a total lack of narrative.” At the same time, he said, “She is still a king-maker and everybody wants her endorsement.”

The comedian went on to predict that Palin will “be the first-ever major party ticket candidate to one day host a cosmetics infomercial.” But for now, he said, “her job is it to keep herself in the media eye, she’s very good at doing that. She is going to talk about the War on Christmas and make that her new pet issue with the book that somebody else wrote. And that should be pretty effective. Telling people who are the religious majority they’re an abused minority will never make you go broke.”

Fugelsang ended his Palin-centered rant by calling her “a hero to gullible conservatives, smart liberals, and all comedians. So, I hope she runs.”

Watch video below, via MSNBC:

Via: Mediaite.com

Continue Reading....