We talked about Disney having some rroubles yesterday. Well, they have more problems. Let’s talk about them.
Tensions between Iran and the United States are growing.
And California is about to implement a new law to protect children. No, no. They still want to cut the balls off your children and grandchildren.
News
Here is some news:
- Chris Christie has suspended his presidential campaign… finally.
- Nick Saben, coach of the Alabama college football team is retiring. He coached For 17 years and won 6 NCAA championships.
- Two committees in the House of Representatives have voted to find Hunter Biden in contempt of Congress.
- Iranian forces have seized an oil tanker in the Gulf of Oman, two U.S. military officials confirmed to Fox News on Thursday. The U.S. boarded this ship a while back and took one million barrels of Iranian oil. This is something to watch.
Dumbass of the Day
Two things that should raise some concerns.
First, he wants to pay people with tax payer money to house illegal aliens. If it is excess money, shouldn’t he just give that money back if his people are struggling?
Finally, this is the beginning. Soon, they are going to force private residences to take people in. They’re going to start with churches.
More Troubles for Disney
According to Daily Wire:
A new horror movie featuring the “Steamboat Willie” version of Mickey Mouse is currently in the works, per a Variety report.
Disney’s copyright to “Steamboat Willie” expired Monday, along with its right to the original versions of Mickey and Minnie Mouse, though the company still holds copyrights for more modern versions of these iconic characters. “Steamboat Willie” is an animated short from 1928 that is widely considered the debut of Mickey and Minnie Mouse characters, however, Mickey doesn’t look the same as the modern versions of the cartoon. According to NPR, “he’s more rascally and rough.”
Independent filmmaker Steven LaMorte released a statement announcing his intentions to capitalize on this new development by making Mickey the main character in a horror flick.
“Steamboat Willie has brought joy to generations, but beneath that cheerful exterior lies a potential for pure, unhinged terror,” LaMorte said in a press release, per the outlet. “It’s a project I’ve been dreaming of, and I can’t wait to unleash this twisted take on this beloved character to the world.”
LaMorte also directed “The Mean One” (2022) a horror film starring the Dr. Seuss character The Grinch. The movie grossed $1 million in theaters.
Disney said in a statement last month the company would be diligent about protecting the copyright-protected version of Mickey Mouse.
“We will, of course, continue to protect our rights in the more modern versions of Mickey Mouse and other works that remain subject to copyright, and we will work to safeguard against consumer confusion caused by unauthorized uses of Mickey and our other iconic characters,” the company said.
This development is similar to what happened when the children’s storybook characters Winnie the Pooh and Piglet became public domain property last year. The horror film “Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey” featuring Pooh and Piglet as deranged serial killers was released last January to mixed reviews.
Go Woke Go Broke
According to the Daily Wire:
Disney isn’t the top-performing movie studio of 2023.
Universal overtook Disney to steal the top spot from the House of Mouse – largely thanks to big hits last year including “The Super Mario Bros. Movie,” “Oppenheimer,” and “M3GAN,” per a Variety report. These and other projects brought in a collective $4.907 billion in worldwide ticket sales, pushing Disney to the second-place spot.
This is the first time Disney hasn’t been the highest-grossing studio since 2015.
Disney released 17 new films in 2023 earning the studio $4.827 billion globally. Those titles included “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3,” “Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny,” and “The Little Mermaid” plus others.
Per Variety, the studio sent a memo blaming their fall from the top on releasing seven fewer movies than Universal did last year, which they used as an excuse for the $80 million revenue gap.
The publication noted that this past year was also the first time Disney didn’t have one of the top three movies and the first time since 2013, excluding pandemic years in 2020 and 2021, that the studio didn’t have any films cross the $1 billion threshold.
That’s significant considering that other studios put out $1 billion hits last year. There was Warner Bros.’ “Barbie” ($1.4 billion) and Universal’s “The Super Mario Bros. Movie” ($1.3 billion). Universal also put out “Oppenheimer” during the summer blockbuster season, earning the studio $950 million and helping cement their place in the top spot.
Disney’s best-performing movie of the year was “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3,” which brought in $845 million. Several of the studio’s efforts were box office disappointments, including “Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania,” “The Marvels,” and “Haunted Mansion.”
Not Sure This is a Bad Idea
According to the Post Millennial:
A Democrat-backed California bill banning contact football for youth under the age of 12 has passed in the State Assembly’s Committee on Arts, Entertainment, Sports, and Tourism.
Proponents of the bill argue safety concerns and the risk of traumatic brain injuries, while critics of the bill say it is discriminatory and tramples on parental rights.
Assembly Bill 734, authored by Democrat state Rep. Kevin McCarty, who serves in California’s 6th district around Sacramento, passed in the committee on Wednesday in a 5-2 vote.
The text of the bill reads: “On and after January 1, 2026” the bill would “prohibit a youth sports organization that conducts a tackle football program, or a youth tackle football league, from allowing a person younger than 12 years of age to be a youth tackle football participant through the organization or league.”
During the hearing, Rep. McCarty argued the need to impose a youth tackle football ban on the dangers of chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) and the risk of suicide that follows the diagnosis. He brought in medical experts to provide testimony.