Go! Into The Woods

While some debate Jake being in California, it looks like OMG was right on the money,  and know there might be another reason to add to the list of why he's there.

News came today from The Hollywood Reporter that Jake and fellow actor Chris Pine are getting closer to being named for the role of the two princes in Disney's film adaptation of Stephen Sondehim's award winning musical

And Disney is not holding back in bringing this musical to the big screen. musical is getting best of the best for the film adaptation with bringing back James Lapine, the original book writer, who is reworking the script for the screenplay, while Sondheim has also written new material for the film, including "Rainbows", a duet between The Baker and his Wife, as well as a new song for Meryl Streep as 'The Witch'.

Joining Streep is Johnny Depp who is playing the hungry and sexy Wolf and Tony Award winner James Corden playing the role of The Baker.

The musical intertwines the plots of several Brothers Grimm fairy tales and follows them to explore the consequences of the characters' wishes and quests. The main characters are taken from "Little Red Riding Hood", "Jack and the Beanstalk", "Rapunzel", and "Cinderella", as well as several others. The musical is tied together by an original story involving a baker and his wife and their quest to begin a family, and their interaction with a Witch and her curse on them. The musical debuted in San Diego at the Old Globe Theatre in 1986, and premiered on Broadway in 1987. Into the Woods won several Tony Awards, including Best Score, Best Book, and Best Actress in a Musical (Joanna Gleason), in a year dominated by The Phantom of the Opera.

Jake and Chris would play the roles of Cinderella and Rapunzel's princes, a pair of competitive, arrogant men in search of true love.

And while both are dashing and some have said that Rapunzel's Flynn in Tangled (Disney's animated version of Rapunzel) reminds them of Jake, this is a perfect role for Jake for other reasons:

He loves musicals

He's a huge Stephen Sondheim fan.

And Jake's performed In The Woods before - (but not as a prince)

"We just did 'Into the Woods' at the family reunion. Peter [Sarsgaard] played the wolf, and I played Little Red Riding Hood. It's always really intense but really moving. . . . We all cry at the end. When we sang that number, 'No One Is Alone,' it really got me. 'Cause Peter has a beautiful voice -- I don't know if you know that about him."    Source

Damn the Yankees Jake, Go Into The Woods.

Mysteries PoP Open?

PoP the game calls Jordan Mechner its big Poppa but he has been a bit of absentee father since 2003's PoP:The Sands of Time game, when the last several games have come out, but that has all changed. This past week PoP Poppa Mercher filed for a new trademark called Prince of Persia The Forgotten Sands. What does that mean? Not a lot on its own.

Now that with video gamemaker Ubisoft Marc-Antoine Senecal's mention on his CV on Linked In that he has been working on Prince of Persia since August 2009, that sounds like there is a new PoP game on the way. Even more mysterious he quickly changed his CV to "Working on the best game ever."

Does this mean there will new a game coming out as a tie in to PoP in May 2010? And will the Prince be looking like the his old self or will it be Disney'd?

What would be like to have a video game character that looks like you? Well it might be a better explanation of all day trailer visits or carpal tunnel syndrome, playing with Jake. THE GAME, THE GAME.


Speaking of Disney. Couple days ago linked an article about the new head of Disney, Rich Ross. At that time there is something I didn't know. He is Hollywood's first openly gay studio chairman.

"Disney has long been the most gay friendly studio in Hollywood, having had a couple of gay production chiefs over the years, most recently Nina Jacobson, now an independent producer after being forced out in a studio purge several years ago. The studio's theme parks have allowed unofficial Gay Day celebrations for years, prompting a host of venemous attacks from various Christian right anti-gay zealots.

But Disney now has a really big first -- Rich Ross, Hollywood's first openly gay studio chief." - LA Times

Back in June the LA Time profiled Ross and mentioned his partner. "The 47-year-old Ross and his partner of more than 20 years, Adam Sanderson, live in the Hollywood Hills and have no children of their own,”

The LA Times writer did a quick canvas of gay filmmakers and executives, the news about Ross was something of a revelation, even in the gay community. Saying that may be because film people don't always keep track of TV exec, especially those kid's programming.

Openly gay movie producer Howard Rosenman did weigh in the groundbreaking move.
"It's not just the first time ever, but it's the greatest thing ever,".... "After all these years, what finally matters is -- show me the money! It doesn't matter what you do with your [penis], just what you do with your job. It's a new era in Hollywood. Rich Ross will only be judged by how well he makes the product and and how commercial it is, not who he is in his private life. He's obviously already been a big success at the Disney Channel, so he clearly knows what he's doing."

Will having an openly gay studio head start the shift in Hollywood? And maybe for PoP stars?

LA Times: Rich Ross Hollywood's First Openly Gay Studio Chairman

Advocate: Disney Goes Gay with New Top Executive

PoPing under Pressure?

D23 opens this Thursday and the question is how big of a sneak peek is Disney going to give to its loyal fans who attend, and what will the be reaction. It seems that D23 will be the kick off for PoP, yes it has had a few soft previews, the teaser on ET, the interview with Bruck, stills and pics from the set, the Lego deal and the new action figures that will come out in May.

The mention is that there will be lots of Disney stars attending the events, even including speculation that Johnny Depp may attend for the the sneak peek of Alice. Will Jake attend as well as the part of the PoP launch? With Jake above the title on Disney's first try in video game adaptation it seems in all likelihood he will make an appearance at the Disney exclusive event.

Disney's recently acquisition of Marvel also launches them in to the superhero business, new territory for them, does that increase the industry expectations for PoP now?

And with past videogame movie adaptations falling short is Bruckheimer the answer to finally getting over that last hurdle?

There is a lot riding on PoP, and it much more than just Jake's resume.


So how will Bruck and Disney present to the fans. The action? or the romance?


Building it is an epic is could be a risky venture, it is like building a house on the sand, if it does not live up to the expectations of the movie goers, it could wash away quickly. What is going to be interesting is to see how they do sell it, and D23 is the first first real look at how they are going to do it. But it seems like it will be teaser just enough but not too much.


There is so much discussion if PoP will boom or bust not just here or by all over other blogs, it is doing one thing that they've wanted , it has people talking. Both Disney and Bruck are savy enough to use both the positive and negative chatter to their advantage, right up until release.
It almost seems like they are playing things close to the vest for now, and not because its not good, but more for the true blockbuster surprise.




Something that caught my eye about D23, after all the discussion here about Disney and the GLTB community, was on a blog called Movie Deareast.

Jeffrey Epstein, co-author of the bookQueens in the Kingdom: The Ultimate Gay & Lesbian Guide to the Disney Theme Parks, is involved in the marketing of the D23 Expo. Subsequently, GLBT attendees can look forward to special presentations and sights geared toward our community. (Readers can learn more about Jeffrey and the queer side of the Disney parks at the Queens in the Kingdom website.)