There will be no new Pixar movie in 2014. The highly decorated computer animation company, which is owned by Disney, has pushed the release of The Good Dinosaur from June 2014 to November 25, 2015. But wait, wasn’t Finding Dory scheduled for that date? It was, but now the underwater sequel will open June 17, 2016.

Disney also moved the Angelina Jolie film Maleficent up from July 2, 2014 to May 30, 2014, the space vacated by The Good Dinosaur.

Hmm. Should we worry about the beloved animation studio? Probably not. Actually, I’d rather see them take the time they need to make a good film…

For Rowling, the most important issue was creative control‚ not an easy ask for a first-time screenwriter. Sources say Warners cannot hire someone else to rewrite her script without her approval – a gamble for the studio and a departure from the Potter films, which were written by such seasoned scribes as Steve Kloves and Michael Goldenberg. Rowling also has script approval on subsequent Fantastic Beasts films.

This seems like a very good thing to me. My problems with the films tended to feel like things that J.K. Rowling would not have done. Her books are fantastic. I realize that…

The newbie this weekend is Prisoners. It looks less than amazing to me, but at the same time, it has some potential. In fact, given the last several weeks, I’d say this film positively shines and stands out amongst its peers.

New This Weekend

Prisoners — R

As a parent, there’s certainly something compelling about the truth behind the story here: how far would you go for your child? For the drama of it, this film looks like it could be good. At the same time, there was a film earlier this year, The Call, that was not very good due to it’s third act being so terrible. I kind of wonder if…

This one’s a little odd, but anyway… Deadline is reporting that Marvel is working on a concept for a TV series based on Agent Carter, as in Peggy Carter, the character featured in an “Agent Carter” short on the upcoming Iron Man 3 Blu-ray.

Deadline claims it is “one of several projects” in the works at Marvel, so who knows if it will go anywhere.

Hmm. I really liked Peggy Carter as a character but this seems a little bit odd and I’m not sure if I want a TV show based on the character. Weird. 

“This time, it has Brad Pitt…

Bwaas!”

Man I love these trailers. World War Z wasn’t a bad film, but it did have its problems, as highlighted here.

Faced with some story issues on the super sequel, there was only man who could save the day: Marvel guru and fanboy fave, Joss Whedon. “Joss came in to save our lives a couple of times,” Taylor told SFX (via Comic Book Movie). “We had a major scene that was not working on the page at all in London, and he basically got airlifted in, like a SWAT team or something. He came down, rewrote the scene, and before he got back to his plane I sort of grabbed him and said, ‘And this scene and this scene?’ And he rewrote two other scenes that I thought had problems. Then finally we let go of him, he…

And so it begins…

This marks Pixar’s first foray into TV specials. I suppose it was inevitable. Despite the fact that I’m not a big fan of Halloween, I suppose I like this. It looks like it will be sufficiently goofy.

Have a look:

I have to admit, a little bit of humor can go a long way to diffuse a situation, and he handles the situation with grace and humor here.

Warner Bros. apparently advised Affleck to stay away from the net for a few days after the casting announcement in order that he might avoid the disparaging fan comments he would receive. Says he, “Well, I’m tough, I can handle it.” After reading one comment he temporarily reverted to the stone age of the pre-internet era. Fun stuff.

Well, this is kind of a bummer, but she says she has not received the phone call about appearing in the second Avengers film. But you’ve gotta figure an ensemble film like that is pretty crowded and it’s hard to focus on the various characters. As it was, she barely had a bit part in the first film. As much as it pains me to say it, because I like Pepper Potts as a character, if the film works better without her due to the ensemble nature and needing to focus in on some other character as much as possible, then I guess that’s okay.