Toon Zone posted a report of the Disney/Pixar event at NYCC, with impressions of Pixar’s new Up.

I have to admit I’m somewhat torn about how to cover Up — on the one hand, it’s more movie magic from Pixar, but on the other, Up seems like the kind of movie where knowing more about it will ruin some wonderful, delightful surprises. Seeing the four clips beforehand just gave away exactly where a lot of the early minutes of the movie were leading up to. So, I’ll report that Michael Giacchino (The Incredibles and Ratatouille) is set to start scoring Up next week and Docter and Rivera are excited about that, and the Pixar crew is heading up to Skywalker Ranch to do sound design of the movie in March. Beyond that, my advice is that you should do yourself a solid and stop reading when you hit the silly photo coming up. Just go buy your tickets when the movie opens up on May 29, 2009.

TZ also covers the Q&A session afterward, at which Pixar gave a pretty firm statement on its first live-action film: “They’re not talking about John Carter of Mars yet. So don’t ask.”

Source: NYCC2009: Spending Time with Disney/Pixar’s “Up” (and, Disney’s “Surrogates”)

Tomorrow marks the triumphant return of Henry Selick. Selick, who has been MIA since the critically and financially panned Monkeybone, returns this week with the stop-action tour de force Coraline, based on the novelette by Neil Gaiman. Why do we care? Because he was also the director of The Nightmare Before Christmas, and regardless of having Tim Burton’s name attached, Selick’s ability to pull off such imaginative sequences with the technology was the reason why that film is remembered 15 years later.

Sci-Fi blog io9 has an exclusive interview with the man behind this season’s creepiest kids flick, which will undoubtedly appeal to adults just the same. One question they ask is how it can survive in today’s CG-dominated market:

Do you feel like this type of movie is a hard sell? With all the Pixar movies and CG movies that are riding the popularity wave right now, is there a place for stop motion?
I don’t know. I think people are always looking for something different. If all the fans of Nightmare, many who have grown up with that film, if just the fans of Nightmare come it will be a success. So I’m counting on the fans of Nightmare but also there’s been a lot of CG so people know that look. Obviously it can serve a great story well, the Pixar films are brilliant same with Dreamworks. So we’re kind of off to the side. And we hope that people notice and are interested in it.

We’re certain it will be an amazing film, but we’re holding out if the creepy factor is too much for young children. If you’ve seen it, let us know!

Source: Solving Coraline’s Naked Old Lady Problem

Avatar is an American animation series with dripping with Asian influences. So can somebody tell us why this Asian-helmed adaptation has a 100% caucasian cast? That’s like seeing Jake Gyllenhaal as the Prince of Persia. Oh wait, that’s really happening…

So imagine our surprise when director M. Night Shyamalan replaced famous Chipmunk Jesse McCartney with – wait for it – a real Asian actor!

We first reported on the outcry over the all-white casting of the distinctly non-white animated characters Slumdog Millionaire‘s Dev Patel will be taking over the role previously thought to belong to Jesse McCartney represent a victory for the fans? Well, yes and no.

MDIAG! thinks after seeing Lady in the Water, the studios might have more to worry about their choice of director, but that’s just our opinion.

Source: Shyamalan’s Avatar Cast Gets Colorful, Finally

In our best valley voice, check out these totally rad spoilers from the Transformers and Spider-Man sequels, courtesy of Sci-Fi blog io9.

First up, Transformers:

A Navy Seal who’s an extra in the film says he filmed a battle scene with the Decepticons, where he has to get some villagers out of the area to save them from the Decepticon attacks. And then he and the others “had to protect [Editor's Note: removed for suspense] corpse.” OMG! [IESB and Transformers Live]

Now for Spidey 4:

Sam Raimi says he may be looking to film some of the “second unit” stuff for this sequel in Michigan. Not sure if this means the film includes some wide-open spaces at some point, or if Detroit is going to be gussied up as Manhattan. [Coming Soon]

Click the link below to get the full scoop.

Source: Unbelievable Pics From Terminator, Transformers And BSG

Sci-Fi blog io9 has the latest scoop on the G.I. Joe live-action and Transformers sequel movies. First, Yo, Joe!

The toy movie released a bunch of “identification cards,” which include images of characters you haven’t seen before. Wait, there’s a character called The Doctor, but he’s not played by Chrisopher Eccleston?? Way more pics at the link. [Hisstank via Slashfilm]

And now for the next toy you’ll be buying for your little ones, courtesy of Transformers: Revenge Of The Fallen:

Soon we’ll see our first glimpse of the film during the Superbowl, but some toy fair attendees saw some “animatics” already. And apparently Devastator, the “Constructicon” made out of five construction vehicles, is amazing. “The mixing drum in his chest becomes a massive turbine grinder. It creates a turbine effect, sucking everything in Devastator’s path up, and spitting it out of his back.” (Does that mean Devastator’s superpower is chewing up his enemies and then pooping them?)

Click on the link below to read the full scoop.

Source: Dance With Dragonball, Brace For Star Trek And Put G.I. Joe On Your Lanyard

The Official Playstation Blog released its weekly update of video content available now on the Playstation Network. Here are the family-friendly highlights:

• Batman: Mystery of the Batwoman – From IMDB: “A ruthless destructive vigilante posing as Batwoman is wreaking havoc in Gotham City. While she sets her sights on thwarting Penguin’s evil plans, Batman concentrates on discovering this mysterious imposter’s true identity. But when she’s captured by the vicious Bane, it falls upon the caped crusader to rescue her, defeat Bane and foil the Penguin’s devious plot himself. Written by Jim Harvey (www.toonzone.net)“

• Anastasia – From 20th Century Fox: “A spellbinding mix of adventure, comedy, romance and music, this acclaimed animated spectacular tells the thrilling story of the lost Russian princess Anastasia and her quest to find her true identity. When the shadow of revolution falls across Russia, the royal family’s youngest daughter barely escape with her life. Years later, Anastasia and a band of heroic companions must battle the evil Rasputin, his sidekick Bartok the bat and a host of ghostly minions in a headlong race to reach Paris, reclaim her rightful destiny and solve the greatest mystery of the 20th century.”

Best part about the PSN video store? Unlike Xbox Live Marketplace, movies can be purchased (in SD only) and transferred to a PSP for portable viewing. MDIAG! says – roadtrip!

Source: PlayStation Network Video Content Update

MDIAG! was happy it was finally Friday, but we didn’t expect to be THIS happy…

After years of finally washing Dolph Lundgren from our consciousness, news from Variety states the He-Man reboot now has a director:

John Stevenson, one of the directors of Dreamworks’ Kung-Fu Panda, has been tapped to direct the new movie based upon the 1980s Mattel toyline, from a script written by Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun-Li‘s Justin Marks.

Okay, one out of two ain’t bad, although after seeing how well Kung-Fu Panda turned out, we kinda wish this was a CG flick instead of a live-action one. And it’s being produced by Joel Silver as well. Hey, now that Frank Langella is an Oscar nominee for Frost/Nixon, maybe we can get him to return as Skeletor?

Source: Kung-Fu Panda’s Creator To Take On He-Man

Exciting news regarding your favorite mouse! No, not that one. Not that one either. Okay, he’s French, cut him some slack! High-Def Digest reports The Tale of Despereaux is getting a Blu-ray release on March 17:

Exclusive to the Blu-ray are two Bonus View picture-in-picture tracks (live action and animatic), plus the BD-Live-enabled My Scenes Sharing function and another interactive game.

Suggested retail price is $39.98, but of course you can save some money by purchasing from Amazon.com here.

Source: ‘Tale of Despereaux’ Coming to Blu-ray