ENCHANTINGLY HEARTWARMING NEW TRAILER AND CHARACTER POSTERS FOR DISNEY'S 'CHRISTOPHER ROBIN' WITH EWAN MCGREGOR, HAYLEY ATWELL!

 'CHRISTOPHER ROBIN'

NEW POSTERS AND TRAILER

Christopher Robin arrives August 3rd!

It is almost around the corner, spylings, new heartwarming family adventure CHRISTOPHER ROBIN will bring Pooh and his friends into cinemas August 3rd, which is next week! With Mark Foster (who isn't a stranger when it comes to movies based on writers or book characters) behind the helm, this mix of live action movie and CGI was inspired by the creator of the popular children's story A. A. Milne and E. H. Shepard's book Winnie-the-Pooh! Ewan McGregor leads the cast in the new Disney movie!

Mark Forster directed the new movie

THE STORY OF CHRIST OPHER ROBIN
follows an adult Christopher Robin, who is now focused on his new life, work, and family, but he suddenly meets his old friend Winnie the Pooh, who returns to his unforgotten childhood past to help him return to the Hundred Acre Wood and help find Pooh's lost friends. Christopher Robin is in trouble himself as he has lost all sense of

Ewan McGregor leads the cast

imagination obsessed with constant work and is even in danger of losing his wife and kids if Pooh doesn't awake the child in him again.

CAST OF CHRIST OPHER ROBIN

is lead by Ewan McGregor as Christopher Robin, a businessman who was once an imaginative boy, with Orton O'Brien appearing in the film as young Christopher Robin! Hayley Atwell, meanwhile, is Evelyn Robin, Christopher's wife. Bronte Carmichael appears as Madeline Robin, Christopher's daughter with Mark Gatiss as Giles Winslow, Christopher's boss. When it comes to voices of Robin's friends,

The Animals from the Hundred Acre Wood are here to help Robin again

Jim Cummings lends his to both Winnie the Pooh, a honey loving plush toy bear who lives in the Hundred Acre Wood, and Tigger, a toy tiger who loves to bounce on his tail like a spring. Brad Garrett is Eeyore, a toy donkey who

The movie is dedicated to composer Johann Johannson who died during production

always loses his tail and talks with a deep depressing voice and tone. Toby Jones is the wise Owl, while Nick Mohammed is Piglet, a diminutive toy pig who is afraid of everything but has a big heart. Sophie Okonedo is Kanga, a toy kangaroo! 

GORGEOUS NEW 'NUTCRACKER AND THE FOUR REALMS' POSTER FOR LASSE HALLSTROM'S AND DISNEY'S MOVIE WITH HELEN MIRREN, MATTHEW MACFADYEN

   NEW 'NUTCRACKER' POSTER

ARRIVES FROM THE MAGICAL FOUR REALMS

A gorgeous new poster (and I reckon the second trailer is around the corner too, I'll post it here as soon as it arrives) is out for Disney's THE

The magic begins this October and November

NUTCRACKER AND THE FOUR REALMS which arrives into cinemas this October helmed by amazing Lasse Hallstrom!

THE STORY 
All Clara (Mackenzie Foy) wants is a key that will unlock a box that holds a priceless gift from her late mother. A golden thread, presented to her at godfather Drosselmeyer's (Morgan Freeman) annual holiday party, leads her to the coveted key which promptly disappears into a strange and mysterious parallel world. It's there that Clara encounters a soldier named Phillip, a gang of mice and the regents who preside over three Realms: Land of Snowflakes, Land of Flowers,

The big screen adaptation is inspired by Tchaikovsky's famous ballet!

and Land of Sweets. Clara and Phillip must brave the ominous Fourth Realm, home to the tyrant Mother Ginger (Helen Mirren), to retrieve Clara's key and hopefully return harmony to the unstable world. The cast also includes Matthew MacFadyen, Miranda Hart, Jack Whitehall and Richard E. Grant.

DISNEY'S LIVE ACTION 'DUMBO' TEASER IS HERE WITH COLIN FARRELL, DANNY DEVITO, MICHAEL KEATON! 'OUTPOST' EPIC FANTASY TV SERIES TRAILER WITH JESSICA GREEN, JAKE STORMOEN!

  CBS 'THE OUTPOST' TRAILER

NEW EPIC FANTASY TV SHOW

Outpost will air on SyFy around the world, CW in USA

CW has finally released the first trailer for their new fantasy adventure series THE OUTPOST which starts airing July 10th in its first season ten episode run! Your trusted spy will do a bigger premium spotlight on the new fantasy saga as soon as we get character photos until then you can enjoy the two new posters!

THE OUTPOST will see Jessica Green playing Talon, the lone survivor of a race called �Blackbloods.� Years after her entire village is destroyed by a gang of brutal mercenaries, Talon travels to a lawless fortress on the edge of the civilized world, as she tracks the killers of her family. On her journey to

Jessica Green and Jake Stormoen lead the cast

this outpost, Talon discovers she possesses a mysterious supernatural power that she must learn to control in order to save herself, and defend the world against a fanatical religious dictator. Jake Stormoen (I can already see him becoming our latest summer obsession being as charismatic as he massively is), Imogen Waterhouse, Andrew Howard, Anand Desai-Barochia and Robyn Malcolm also star in the show produced by fantasy veteran Dean Devlin.

   'DUMBO' TEASER

 SEES ELEPHANTS FLYING!

Dumbo will fly into cinemas March 29th next year

Disney has released the first teaser for Tim Burton's live action DUMBO movie which will fly into cinemas next March. Colin Farrell is Holt who was once a circus star, but he went off to war and when he returned it had terribly altered him. Circus owner Max Medici (Danny DeVito) hires him to take care of DUMBO, a newborn elephant whose oversized ears make him the laughing stock of the struggling circus troupe. But when Holt's children discover that DUMBO can fly, silver tongued entrepreneur V.A. Vandevere (Michael Keaton), and aerial artist Colette Marchant (Eva Green) swoop in to make the little elephant a star. 

San Francisco, Walt Disney Family Museum

Like many people I grew up watching everything Disney. I'm part of a generation that grew up with the Disney Channel on cable. I visited the theme parks growing up. I even worked in the Disney theme parks throughout college. I would read every Disney related book to come out. You can say that I have a bit of a fascination with Disney, but not just the company, but also the man himself. 

Maybe it's because I had a grandpa named Walt who had a striking resemblance to Walt Disney, that maybe sparked something in me as a kid, but for some reason I developed a strong interest in Walt. That's why one of the primary stops on my family's Northern California trip was a visit to The Walt Disney Family Museum in San Francisco (to see more of our NoCal stops click here). The great thing about this museum is the focus is on the man and not the corporation that he started. The museum reminds us that this was a guy who drove to a job, had a family, lived a life and wasn't just some corporate icon. Walt's story is told in a colorful, interactive and entertaining way. All qualities you would expect from something with the name Disney.

Here are a few snapshots from our visit. Note: click images to see larger.

Zinnia and Hazel walk to the entrance of the museum.

The Walt Disney Family Museum is located at 104 Montgomery Street in the Presidio of San Francisco. This large park and former military base contains many different buildings across the property, of which the Disney museum is located inside one of these large buildings.

Robby and Hazel

Hazel trying to blend in with the Mickeys.

Outside the entrance to the museum was a photo op with Walt and a bunch of Mickeys. 

The special Oscar Walt received for Snow White.

Zinnia and Hazel check out vintage Disney collectables.

Robby and Hazel on a Griffith Park bench.

The green bench in the above photo is one that would have been located in Griffith Park during Walt's time. Walt was known to take his daughters to Griffith Park to ride the merry-go-round. The story goes that Walt would sit on one of these benches while he watched his kids play and it was during this time he came up with the idea for a place where kids and their parents could play together.

One of the fun things about the museum is the further you go the more dynamic the exhibits get, drawing you further in.

Walt Disney's miniature train.

In 1950, Walt laid railroad tracks throughout the back yard of his Holmby Hills home. Walt had built a working 1/8-scale, coal-fueled steam train, with cars and caboose, that he would take the kids and friends on rides around the backyard. The engine, named the Lilly Belle after Walt's wife Lillian, is on display at the museum.

An impressive model of Disneyland.

Zinnia and Hazel listening about one of the exhibits.

One of Walt's hat's bronzed and shaped into a heart.

The hat in the above photo was one of my favorite items. Not that it is anything over the top extravagant, but because of the story behind it. Walt always wore hats. Once, while in Mexico, Walt and wife Lillian attended a bull fight. At the end of the fight all the spectators began throwing their hats in the ring, Lillian grabbed Walt's hat but Walt stopped her before she could toss it in the ring. Walt saved his hat and later had it bronzed and shaped into a heart. On Lillian's birthday, February 15, he presented the bronzed, heart shaped hat, filled with violets, as a gift for Lillian's birthday.

Giving Walt a shoulder to lean on.

The Walt Disney Family Museum was one of the best museums I've visited. The quality of the displays were excellent and the staff were friendly and helpful. I thank the barista working the museum cafe who willfully filled a bottle of warm milk for our baby without just saying, "no we can't do that" or giving attitude. Also, Hazel fell at one point and had a booboo and a nurse came to check on her. And the two women working in the museum store were very attentive and friendly. They seemed sincerely interested in us as people and not just paying customers.

The museum is great for all ages and I highly recommend it to anyone who has not been. There is just so much to see I know I want to go back!

Santa Rosa, California - McDonald Avenue Film Locations

Robby and Hazel in front of the Santa Rosa home used for Alfred Hitchcock's Shadow of a Doubt (1943).

This past Fourth of July weekend my wife and daughter and I decided to go on a family road trip up to Northern California. We spent time in three different NoCal cities. Over the next few weeks I'll be sharing some of the film related stops we visited. One of the locations I was most excited to visit was McDonald Avenue in Santa Rosa.

McDonald Avenue, a quiet tree lined street with many attractive Victorian homes, has appeared several times on film, at least as early as 1943. Alfred Hitchcock was one of the first, if not the first, to capture McDonald Avenue on film when he decided to use one of the homes as the primary location for his classic thriller, Shadow of Doubt (1943). At the time Hitchcock made Shadow of Doubt, the country was in the middle of World War II and many supplies used for film sets were being rationed. Instead of building many elaborate sets, Hitchcock chose to shoot his film on location.

Click images to see larger.

904 McDonald Avenue. Shadow of Doubt (1943)

904 McDonald Avenue as it appears as of July 2013.

It's been well documented that the home Hitchcock used for Shadow of a Doubt was a house located at 904 McDonald Ave. It is at this home that Uncle Charlie (Joseph Cotten) visits his sister's family when he needs to hide out from the police. The film stars Teresa Wright, Macdonald Carey, Henry Travers, Patricia Collinge, and Hume Cronyn. Other than some landscaping changes, the exterior of the home looks very much the same. 

Teresa Wright and Joseph Cotten on the steps of 904 McDonald Ave.

Across the street from the house used by Hitchcock is the home used in the made for television remake of Shadow of Doubt (1991), located at 815 McDonald Avenue. The remake starred Mark Harmon and Margaret Welsh in the lead roles and Hitchcock star Tippi Hedren had a part as Mrs. Mathewson.

Shadow of a Doubt (1991) house. 815 McDonald Avenue.

One house south from Hitchcock's Shadow of Doubt home is a house used in the Wes Craven thriller, Scream (1996). The house located at 824 McDonald Avenue was the home of Rose McGowan's character, Tatum. In the screenshot below McGowan can be seen talking with Neve Campbell on the home's porch. According to a San Francisco Chronicle article from 2002, Hitchcock would sit on the same porch at 824 McDonald Avenue and have cocktails with then owner, Judge Donald Geary. Judge Geary's son Bill, who was 13 when Hitchcock came to town for Shadow of a Doubt, said, "He [Hitchcock] used to come over and visit and have a drink with my dad. But Joseph Cotten was a kind of a stuffy guy. He'd have people come light cigarettes for him."

Rose McGowan and Neve Campbell in Scream (1996).

824 McDonald Avenue. Home used in Scream (1996), All My Sons (1948), and where Hitchcock had cocktails with Judge Geary between filming Shadow of a Doubt.

Campbell and McGowan on the porch at 824 McDonald Ave.

Burt Lancaster and Louisa Horton in All My Sons (1948). 824 McDonald Ave in background.

Another film that was made on McDonald Avenue is All My Sons (1948) starring Edward G. Robinson, Burt Lancaster, Mady Christians, Louisa Horton, and Howard Duff. The film also includes a young Harry Morgan (famous later for his role in the television show M*A*S*H) who I will bring up again later in this post. IMDB.com and other sources mention that a home was filmed on McDonald Avenue but no source I found mentioned which home. 

Using screenshots as reference while walking down McDonald Avenue, I discovered three homes that can be clearly seen in the film. The first home is the house at 824 McDonald Ave. See the screenshot above with Lancaster and Horton. Yes, this is the same house from Scream and that porch is the one that Hitchcock sat at while having cocktails with Judge Geary while filming Shadow of a Doubt.

825 McDonald Ave. All My Sons (1948).

825 McDonald Ave. as it appears July 2013.

The second home that can be seen in All My Sons is the house located at 825 McDonald Ave. See the comparison above and the screenshot with Edward G. Robinson below.

Edward G. Robinson in All My Sons. 825 McDonald Ave.

The third home that can be seen in All My Sons is the home located at 815 McDonald Ave. See the comparison below.

Horton and Lancaster in front of 815 McDonald Ave.

815 McDonald Ave. home used in All My Sons (1948).

815 McDonald Ave. as seen in All My Sons (1948).

The most prestigious home on McDonald Avenue is the McDonald Mansion (a.k.a. Mableton Mansion) that was built in 1877 as a summer home for the McDonald Family. This beautiful mansion located at 1015 McDonald Avenue was used as Aunt Polly's house in Disney's Pollyanna (1960). The film stars Hayley Mills, Jane Wyman, Agnes Moorehead, Adolphe Menjou, Richard Egan, Karl Malden, Kevin Corcoran, Nancy Olson, and James Drury. One thing noticeable right away is that the home used in the film is much taller than the actual house. This is because Disney artists used a matte painting to create the illusion that there were two additional floors. See a comparison of the Pollyanna house below.

Mansion from Disney's Pollyanna (1960).

The McDonald Mansion used for Pollyanna. 1015 McDonald Ave.

Me and my little Pollyanna at the gate of the McDonald Mansion.

This last film location is my personal favorite. It's from a little known film called Happy Land (1943) starring Don Ameche, Frances Dee and Harry Carey. The cast also includes Ann Rutherford, Dickie Moore, a young Harry Morgan and Natalie Wood in her film debut.

IMDB.com and other sources mention that this film was shot in Santa Rosa, but nowhere could I find where any scenes were filmed, not even any streets. I figured if Hitchcock, Disney, and others all made films on McDonald Avenue that maybe there was a good chance that Happy Land was also filmed on McDonald Ave. Fortunately, my instinct was correct! Before I visited McDonald Avenue, I had used Google Street View to look up and down the street to see if I could find a home that matched the below screenshot. The home of Don Ameche's and Frances Dee's characters is located at 1127 McDonald Ave. I've also found many of the other film locations used in Happy Land that have not been reported anywhere which I will include in a larger post on this movie later.

Don Ameche and Harry Carey in Happy Land (1943)

1127 McDonald Ave. Home used in Happy Land (1943).

A couple interesting facts:

• Both Hitchcock's Shadow of a Doubt and the Don Ameche film Happy Land were filmed in 1943 within a couple blocks of each other on McDonald Avenue. 
• In 1943 actor Harry Morgan was in the film Happy Land and then in 1948 he appeared in the film All My Sons which both filmed on McDonald Avenue.
• Joseph Cotten was originally considered for Happy Land, but instead appeared in that other 1943 film, Shadow of a Doubt.

Wifey and Hazel admire the flowers on McDonald Avenue.

Santa Rosa's McDonald Avenue is a beautiful residential street with gorgeous homes. Even if it were not for all the film related connections, this street would be a nice place to go for a stroll. The film history just makes it that much more fun for movie lovers.

Check back the next couple weeks for more highlights from our Fourth of July weekend trip.

Jack Benny Wants a 110 Free Disneyland Tickets

Comedian Jack Benny was famous for being a cheapskate. True to his image, in this hilarious video, Benny visits Walt Disney at his office to try and score 110 free tickets to the Disneyland theme park. Instead of taking the cast and crew of his television show out to dinner, Benny wants to treat them to a trip to Disneyland. Walt thinks this is a great idea, but this is before Benny mentions that he wants the tickets for free. Benny reminds Walt that he gave him 4 complimentary tickets to his television show. Walt reminds Benny that that was 9 years ago.

The best part of the video is at the very end. In exchange for the free tickets, Benny explains to Walt that on his television show they have a foreign actress guest star, and that they are going to make a foreign style film. Benny mentions that he is going to rewrite the whole sketch so that it has a "Disney approach." Walt is skeptical of Benny's idea, but Walt knew better than anyone how publicity on television was a great way to promote his upcoming films and theme park attractions.

For the sketch, Benny rewrites Walt's latest film, Mary Poppins, so that it has an Italian feel. Benny has his guest star, foreign actress Elke Sommer, playing a sexy Italian Mary Poppins. In the sketch, Benny, made up to look Italian with a big dark mustache asks Sommer what she wants for lunch. She responds with, "cheese" and then goes on to sing in the tune of "Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious" the words, "mozzarella, provolone, parmesan, ricotta." Sommer, Benny, and two young Italian looking kids then break out in song singing about cheese. I will never be able to watch Mary Poppins again without thinking of cheese.