To drum up buzz for her single "7 Things" and its Brett Ratner-directed music video release, Disney starlet Miley Cyrus claims the song is about an ex-boyfriend who she wants "to be upset. That was my point. Maybe after my video we'll hear from somebody, because it's pretty honest." Naturally, the finger pointing lands squarely on Jonas Brothers star Nick Jonas, as the two were said to have dated last year — but let's not play pretend: the whole scenario was very likely a Mickey Mouse orchestrated set up to drive interest in their brands. And now that the two have "split" (just in time to promote the tour)? The perfect time for a "boys suck!" anthem!
Know what it's also perfect time for? Speculating on another break up … between Miley an Disney. CONTINUED »
Hannah Montana's ratings are down, she's growing up, and Disney needs new paper to print its tween cash on. That's why they've already found Miley Cryus' successor in 15-year-old Texas Demi Lovato. They're going to ease Lovato onto the scene with the move Camp Rock — and then the floodgates will be unleashed. Or, as Disney Channel president Gary Marsh says, "Once we find someone, we go all in." So then will come the music album, an opening act on the Jonas Brothers tour, and endless marketing to make sure she's a brand name by the time the new school year starts. Disney execs will also be issuing a restraining order against Annie Liebowitz. And while Disney insists it's not just a chopshop for tween talent, you'd be silly to think otherwise. Lovato's rise to stardom follows the tried-and-true path of child stars: guest spots that slowly turn into solo vehicles that eventually end up as market behemoths. Oh, and Lovato has one other Miley Cyrus factor: the dad-ager. Her stepfather Eddie De La Garza quit his job at a Ford dealership to become her co-manager (joining the Jonas Bros.' father Kevin Jonas Sr. to become, along with an agent and a publicist Lovato's "team"). Before long, he'll be posing with Lovato's head in his lap. [WSJ]
Hmmm, maybe we were wrong in our sarcastic declaration that the Miley Cyrus-Vanity Fair scandal is not, in fact, a worthwhile news story. If it were such a tabloid item, how could it be included in this three-party storyline connecting Barack Obama and the Rev. Jeremiah Wright? [SF Chron]
(Click image for larger version) CONTINUED »
Picking up where Slate left behind in the racy Disney marketing photos – newsworthy thanks to Miley Cyrus! – TMZ.com Googles "Shanghai Zhenxin Garments Co. Ltd.," the Chinese company behind the ads, and puts together a whole gallery of tweens prancing around in naughty lingerie.
Already the Miley Cyrus-Vanity Fair "scandal" has been defused by certain rational arguments, such as, "We see kids younger than Cyrus appear on film wearing fewer clothes and in more sexually compromising situations, and nobody is crying foul there." But nothing helps combat the idea that Cyrus's photo shoot is a non-issue like another still photograph — this one also of a Disney brand.
A Disney underwear brand. In China. That can be described as nothing more than a pedophile pinup.
How did something much more scandalous than a photograph of Cyrus' back get plastered on a billboard? For starters, the age of consent in California might be 18, but in China, where this billboard appeared, it's a mere 14. CONTINUED »
• Miley Cyrus and her parents saw an opportunity to boost her profile with a Vanity Fair photo shoot that portrayed her as more than an innocent little girl.
• Vanity Fair saw an opportunity to sell magazines by shooting America's tween sweetheart as more than an innocent little girl.
They both exploited each other. Neither should apologize. Except for one little thing: that the the photos are, uh, actually quite terrible.
Photographer Annie Leibovitz, responding to criticism over Miley Cyrus' topless Vanity Fair photoshoot: "I'm sorry that my portrait of Miley has been misinterpreted. Miley and I looked at fashion photographs together, and we discussed the picture in that context before we shot it. The photograph is a simple, classic portrait, shot with very little makeup, and I think it is very beautiful.” [Us]
The Today show didn't even get around to mentioning it until its second half hour. CONTINUED »
Entertainment Tonight was drooling over its weekend scoop that Vanity Fair had pried Miley Cryus' top off for Annie Leibovitz's camera, airing promo spots about the June Vanity Fair that would feature Disney's cash machine in the semi-buff, from behind.
Parents hitting the blogs have called foul; some are labeling the whore affair child porn.
For its part, Miley's corporate parent is blaming Graydon Carter's book: "Unfortunately, as the article suggests, a situation was created to deliberately manipulate a 15-year-old in order to sell magazines," said a Disney spokesperson.
And while Conde Nast fends off the second unwanted scandal – that dares disprove the "all press is good press" mantra – following Vogue's race-baiting Giselse-LeBron cover, the CBS tabloid show also finds itself in familiar surroundings. CONTINUED »
Posing topless in a magazine known for exploiting attractive females who have Hollywood projects to push is probably not the best way to maintain your $1 billion wholesome image. But Miley Cyrus went ahead and stripped down for Vanity Fair anyhow — and then apologized for exposing her 15-year-old body in seductive poses, almost certainly at the behest of Disney, which has probably branded her in the one place Miley didn't expose to the camera lens.
Not that this is the first time Miley's private side has been shown to the world.
Hang on to your Zac Efron — the Disney Channel is ramping up for a fourth cycle of High School Musical. The second edition, which aired last summer, racked up 18.6 million viewers. The third edition hasn't even been released yet, but when it is, it'll first be seen at the multiplex, not your living room. But now that the original cast of the lucrative show is busy with other projects, like sending naked photos of themselves and fighting off gay rumors, don't expect the original cast to return. "At least one approach that's been floated for a High School Musical 4 would simply be to go with a largely new cast and employ a plot that takes place in an early year in high school, opening the possibility for more sequels with new stars" and more forever pre-pubescent leads!
Well this can't be good for a quarterly report.
The Walt Disney Co., whose stock has been performing modestly over the past half decade, now has to figure out what to do about something they can't exactly control: reports that everyone's favorite mass murderer, Adolph Hitler, had a little hobby drawing Disney characters during World War II.
That's the claim by a Norwegian war museum after its director, William Hakvaag, found drawings of Bashful and Doc from 1937's Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, a copy of which Hitler owned, as well as one of Pinocchio, from the 1940 film, hidden in a painting Hakvaag bought at auction.
Hitler fancied himself an artist, and even tried to make a living from it, before setting his sights on taking of the world and eradicating it of any non-Aryan blood. Which doesn't confirm these drawings are legitimately his, but even the possibility presents some bad press for Mickey Mouse's owner.
There's not much Disney can do here except issue a carefully worded, one-line press release acknowledging and dismissing the matter, and hoping it'll pass. Or they could go the legal route, claim copyright infringement, demand the works be turned over to them, and drum up the worst kind of publicity to move a few DVDs.
Hey, remember being 8 and loving The Little Mermaid? We do!
But apparently, not all beloved cartoons do as well when actors take over for the animators, according to Ben Brantley:
The motto of this production, the latest and least of the Disney musicals to besiege Broadway since “Beauty and the Beast” opened in 1994, could be, “You can never go broke underestimating the taste of preschoolers.” In 1989 the film of “The Little Mermaid,” which signaled a renaissance in Disney animation and featured songs by the composer Alan Menken and the lyricist Howard Ashman that were regularly described as “Broadway-caliber,” was heralded as that rare fairy-tale cartoon that could be enjoyed just as much by grown-ups as by children. (Hey, I saw it three times.)
But in a perverse process of devolution “The Little Mermaid” arrives on Broadway stripped of the movie’s generation-crossing appeal. Coherence of plot, endearing quirks of character, even the melodious wit of the original score (supplemented by new, substandard songs by Mr. Menken and the lyricist Glenn Slater) have been swallowed by an unfocused spectacle, more parade than narrative, that achieves the dubious miracle of translating an animated cartoon into something that feels like less than two dimensions.
Looks like Disney could have saved everyone a lot of time off with a re-release of a limited edition DVD.
Not only is teen queen Vanessa Hudgens is back on board for the sequel to Disney's mega hit, High School Musical 2," (a yet-to-shoot flick cleverly entitled High School Musical 3) but she's reportedly back with a "substantial" pay raise!
Apparently, instead of the child star's offscreen antics (Read: Highly circulated topless photos) tarnishing her image, they only seemed to increase her appeal, particularly among the "bored older brothers who were forced to sit through the hokey Disney sensation by their bratty your sibling" demographic.
Frankly, we're just glad this story has a happy ending. And relieved to see that Nessy's "assets" are finally getting the appreciation (and monetary compensation) that they deserve.
• Paris Hilton's new cellmate is way better than that anal retentive Asian chick you roomed with freshman year.
• Kirsten Dunst battles Drew Barrymore for top "honors" on the Top 10 Creepy Kids list. Related: that chick from The Exorcist had our vote with her first profanity-laced Satanic rant.
• The bad news is, Anna Kournikova seems to think she's still married. The good news is, she could be wrong.
• Kate Winslet leaves her Revolutionary Road trailer in NYC; her stylist begs her to return immediately.
• The cast of Ocean's 13 continues with the witty banter, and "we just don't give a shit" jokes.
• Disney to Sony: Suck it, bitch.
Disney – while clearly in the business of fuzzy sex – is not in the business of making our kids fatter. Not only is the entertainment giant pulling foods laced with trans-fat from its theme parks, but Mickey, Donald, and their cracksquad team of cohorts will also quit schilling for junk food aimed at kids. No longer will foods like Kellogg's Keebler Chips Deluxe Chocolate Lovers cookies be tied to promotions for Disney movies like Cars. But this isn't all about Disney wanting to make sure future generations of children will fit into Splash Mountain's seats without needing the security bar raised: Says Disney chief Robert Iger, "There's also a business opportunity here." Like this one, for treating childhood obesity through the proper channels:
Everyone knows Disney once owned half of Lindsay Lohan's pasty ass. Did you realize until, like, today, they continuted to own half of it when it was slapped all over the cover of Us Weekly? Well, even if you didn't, it don't matter — 'cuz they don't anymore.
Jann Wenner has bought out Disney, and now claims full rights to photos of Lohan as well as Jennifer Aniston and Vince Vaughn honeymooning in St. Tropez. From WWD:
Wenner Media has bought out Disney’s 50 percent stake in Us Weekly.
The privately-held company paid an estimated $300 million to regain full ownership from Disney, which put down about $40 million for its share in 2001, shortly after the magazine went weekly. The then-struggling Us has since thrived. In the first half of this year, Us Weekly sold more than a million copies on the newsstand for the first time.
Recognizing Us' "thriving" is even more amazing when you consider the growth is simultaneously a sign they are shrinking.
Wenner Media Buys Us Weekly Stake From Disney [Irin Carmon, WWD]
Let's face it. Disney movies totally blow. They used to be good back in the day when they had trippy pink elephants and hooka smoking caterpillars. But now it's all lame princess crap all the time.
So finally, after months of negotiations with Pixar, Walt Disney Co. will cough up $ 6.3 billion in stock plus $1.1 billion of "computer animation specialists" dough to buy the more successful motion picture company. (Who's ever heard of computer animation specialist money, anyways, let alone a billion bucks of it?)
The deal combines the two companies that have been partners for more than a decade, and gives Disney a leg up in animated films, where it has been struggling in recent years.
Ok, so it's official: Steve Jobs is one person who is not depressed on this most depressing day of the year.
Disney, Pixar agree to $7.4 billion deal [Market Watch]
• The Wisconsin State Journal allows readers to pick the stories they want to see on the front page. Don’t be surprised if the next three days feature stories on Gisele Bunchen’s modeling career. [E & P]
• CBS and Warner Brothers plan to launch a new, fifth network, called CW. The best part? They’ll be pulling the WB. [NYP]
• Pixar officially sells out to Disney, making Steve Jobs the number one share holder of all the money in the world. [NYP]
• Ohh, maybe Jake Gyllenhaal will call President Bush immature. [Drudge Report]
• Mr. Abercrombie, Mike Jeffries, talks … a lot. Dude. [Salon]
• Good Morning America's much sought after weatherman Tony Perkins is splitting the Disney network for, uh, local news. He's signed on with Washington's Fox affiliate WTTG-TV, where he'll be a "weather anchor and as a contributor in other ways." Moral advisor, maybe? [TVNewser]
• Judith Miller is back in front of a grand jury today, where we're hoping she'll finally shed light on how she continues to look angrier than look-a-like Anna Wintour. [E&P]
• Disney joins Viacom and NBC Universal in suing to quash new FCC rules that require expanded children's educational programming expanded. Yes, the Mickey Mouse company doesn't want to be forced to brainwash children. [LAT]
• If it weren't for Jon Friedman's daily ramblings on media shlack, you might not have known that the New York Times' purchase of About.com didn't fit into the company's news empire expansion. [MarketWatch]
• Crime doesn't pay, except when you illegally pay radio stations to play your clients' songs, and then it pays quite nicely actually. Well, until you get fired. [LAT]
• Is anyone really surprised to see another gay-themed article by Choire Sicha? Color us impressed. [New York Observer]
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