Elon Musk's Nod to The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy.

Elon Musk, the head of Space-X announced earlier this week that his private space launch company is planning to send human colonies to Mars in 2023.  If that wasn't cool enough, Musk will be naming the first ship "Heart of Gold", after the ship commandeered by Zaphod Beeblebrox in the Douglas Adams novel, and Walt Disney Pictures sci-fi comedy film, The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. 

The fictitious ship is powered by a "Improbability Drive" resulting in hilarious side effects.  Musk relates the propulsion system, to the improbability of his company's continued success as a private space launch company. Fans will also appreciate that the Space-X craft will be powered by 42 Raptor engines.  The number 42 figures heavily in the novel/film plot as the answer to the Ultimate Question: What is the meaning of life, the universe, and everything?  This isn't the first time that a real life space ship was named after a famous science fiction starship. NASA named the very first Space Shuttle "Enterprise" after the famous ship from Star Trek.

The Rocketeer sequel, and Del Toro’s ‘Haunted Mansion

By CHRIS GOLDTRAP - September 6th 2016

Earlier this week Digital Trends recently interviewed veteran Disney executive producer Brigham Taylor about a few other projects he, and Walt Disney Studios, currently have in the works. Here are a few paragraphs from that interview about a few of our favorite Sci-Fi movie rumors.

Digital Trends: You’ve had a new movie based on the Haunted Mansion attraction in development for a while now, with Guillermo Del Toro attached as a writer and director. Is that still in the works? Is Del Toro still involved?

Brigham Taylor: Guillermo is still very much attached and involved. It’s just been going at its own pace, because it’s a movie that I think will eventually get made, but should only be made when it’s absolutely ready to be made. There’s no reason to put a rush on it or back into a date. I’m happy to say we’ve been steadily working away to hone the right story for it. We’re still doing that. Guillermo is a very talented filmmaker who’s always been active with it, so once the right version of the material marries up to the right window of time for him, I think that’s when the movie gets made.

There was a report a while back that Del Toro wasn’t going to be able to direct it. Are you still planning to have him do so?

That’s always going to be a function of his schedule, but in the best version of this scenario, he will.

There was some recent buzz about a sequel to The Rocketeer that’s in development. Given the popularity of comic-book movies these days, it makes sense to return to that world. What can you tell us about the film at this point?

I’m terribly excited about it. I feel that The Rocketeer is one of the great comic book movies, and one of the great Disney live-action films that was a bit unheralded when it was first released, but has stuck around as quality films do and remained relevant to a lot of film fans. We’re just at the earliest phase of launching the draft, so we’ve hired the writers and they’re settling in. That’s where it has to start, and hopefully we can deliver on the promise of this take that they’ve helped hammer out. If so, then hopefully we can move it forward. I’m just happy it’s in the mix, because it’s such a rich world, and I think it still feels unique. I’m a fan of Marvel and all those films, but this film feels like something very different, and that makes it feel very important.

So the film is being envisioned as a sequel, and not as a reboot?

Yeah, that’s how we’re considering it now, and I think that the greatest tribute you can pay to the amazing 1991 film is by not pretending it didn’t happen. I love that and I love that if we’re lucky enough to make another film, it’s one that you could come to fresh as an audience member and also direct your attention to the ’91 film if you haven’t seen it, and have that film exist in the same canon.

The initial report indicated that the film will feature a black, female lead. Is that indeed the case?

That is the story we’re centered around, yeah. There was a very specific logline that was shared, but I think it’s fair to say we’re at an early phase where so much can wonderfully happen in the story development, so I don’t know which things we’ll hold on to and which things we won’t. But I love the notion of that character, and it’s a very foundational idea for this take.

You can find the original interview which also features The Jungle Book Here:  The Jungle Book’ producer on talking animals, ‘The Rocketeer’ sequel, and Del Toro’s ‘Haunted Mansion’

Also here is a tour of Del Toro's "Bleak House" which features a Haunted Mansion inspired room:

Andy Visits Guillermo Del Toro's Bleak House - CONAN on TBS

Marvel Announces Monsters Unleashed

Marvel announced yesterday that a comic book series featuring the popular Marvel versions of classic Universal Monsters will be released in January 2017! Included are expected to be Dracula, The Mummy, Werewolf By Night, Frankenstein's Monster, and Man-Thing.

Fans of the previous iterations will be excited to see these classic fiends together again!  No further details have been released. There is speculation in the fan community, especially those "Monster Kids" who grew up in the 70's, as to whether the monsters will be evil or good.  A few years ago, the monsters teamed up on Disney XP's Spider Man series as Blade and The Howling Commandos (not to be confused with Captain America's Howling Commandos), fought with Spidey against Dracula and his minions.  A link to the episode commercial can be found here:
Ultimate Spiderman: Blade and The Howling Commandos

The Legacy of Condorman!

By Michael Goldtrap.

Be it known that we here at LightEars LOOOOVE Condorman!  In departure from the good reviewers at Rotten Tomatoes (who give a generous 25%) we appreciate the 1981 Disney film for what it is; pure camp. From the bad acting by former phantom Michael Crawford, to the hit and miss special effects (Miss: Flapping condor wings fail, Hit: can you say laser gun boat chase?) While not Disney's biggest hit, it found its way into the hearts of many HBO and Disney Channel watchers of the early '80's.   Calling it a "cult classic" may be an overstatement, the film did leave a sort of legacy in it's small impact on pop culture.
Disney released a minimum of merchandise including posters, comic books, and a novelization in support of this film.  

 

Within the last few years, Disney has released the DVD of the film, as an exclusive to the Disney Movie Club, and a CD of the soundtrack on Intrada Records.

In the Pixar short film, Small Fry, Director Angus MacLane included a discarded Condorman kids meal toy, citing himself as a fan of the film.

Possibly, in response to the Pixar reference, and renewed interest in the film, Disney has quietly released a Condorman Vinylmation and Disney Infinity Condorman Winged Glider disk.

Art by Francesco Francavilla

Fans of the film have also been busy creating their own style of Fan art for the film. 
Today marks the 35th anniversary of the film's release, and it quite honestly hasn't held up.  Possibly since the film was cheesy even in the 80's. Although it may not  be fully appreciated by moviegoers raised on a steady diet of CGI,  Condorman can still be a guilty pleasure and reminder of a simpler time of Disney film making. 

Disney Announces Sequel to The Rocketeer

By: Michael Goldtrap
The Hollywood Reporter revealed today the Walt Disney Studios has hired Max Winkler (son of Fonz) and Matt Spicer to pen a sequel to the 1991 Joe Johnston directed film based on the comics by Dave Stevens.

The new film is set six years after the events of the first film.  Cliff Secord has disappeared and a female pilot has taken the mantle (and rocket pack) to thwart a Russian rocket scientist's plans of using the Rocket pack as a Cold War weapon.

Star Wars SDCC 2016 Exclusives

The official blog for San Diego Comic Con revealed this year's exclusive Star Wars collectibles to fans lucky (or willing) enough to stand in long lines, dressed as a Wookie! Here are a few standouts.

Funko has a limited BB-8 POP giving the thumbs up (or another finger).

Or this farm boy Luke fig from..Return of the Jedi?!

Finally a Meisho Movie Realization Teppou Ashigaru Sandtrooper!

The BFG Review

By Taylor Goldtrap

LightEars Teen Critic, Taylor, reviews the new Disney / Amblin epic fantasy adventure, The BFG!

I recently saw Steven Spielberg’s movie The BFG, and was very pleased with how it turned out. It follows the adventures of a small orphan girl named Sophie and her unlikely 24-foot tall friend, the Big Friendly Giant (or the BFG,) as they plot to rid the world of nine “rotsome” man-eating giants responsible for the disappearances of children from boarding-schools across the world. Mark Rylance does an exceptional job while portraying the titular character through motion capture, perfectly reflecting the conflicting wiseness and childlike aspects of the BFG’s personality through his expressive facial and body language. Ruby Barnhill, a newcomer to the movie industry, made a stellar debut as Sophie, capturing the curiosity of a 10-year old girl suddenly exposed to things that she could’ve only dreamed of before.

I  was (happily) surprised to note that the movie wasn’t a far cry from the original book by Roald Dahl, a book I’ve had the pleasure to read. Instead, the few small changes made (such as adding an additional child who was in the BFG’s care before Sophie, expanding  on the reasons behind his fatherly caring for Sophie), enhanced the movie and helped to drive the plot along better. The movie also had its fair share of laughter-inducing moments, such as the frobscottle party in the Queen of England’s palace that had everyone “whizzpopping”.

The special effects, supervised by Joel Whist, were also stunning and truly brought the  giants to life. They shaped and contorted the actors into believable towering behemoths, demonstrating  an expert level of digital/real merging. The dreams of Dream Country were also shrouded in the perfect level of mystery, and it was hard to take my eyes off of their beautiful forms as they told silent stories to Sophie from inside the jars in the BFG’s cave house. The nightmares, or “troggelhumpers,” as the BFG called them, combined the effect of a dream with something truly horrifying. This created the shapeless beings which thrashed against the walls of the jars like angry prisoners violently trying to escape.

I think this movie was an excellent one. It combined fantastical characters and ideas with morals that could be useful in real life, such as to never give up. Regardless of how small you are, you can make a big difference. It also added just the right amount of fun to keep the younger audience engaged and laughing, however themes of giants kidnapping and eating children (although not depicted on screen) may upset the youngest moviegoers. I highly recommend this film!