Disney Announces Two New Pixar Films, Tim Burton Shows Off 'Frankenweenie' at D23

Disney is bringing out the big guns in California. D23, Disney's annual showcase, is happening right now in Anaheim, and the company has no shortage of awesome news. During the studio panel portion of the events, Pixar announced two new upcoming films. According to the animation company's Twitter account, one reimagines the history of the asteroid that wiped out the dinosaurs. However, in the Disney version, the asteroid misses earth and the dinosaurs continue to exist (no word if Rex from 'Toy Story' will be in it). The second movie "explores a world that everyone knows, but no one has seen: inside the human mind." We are not sure exactly what this film will entail -- maybe a frontal cortex will be a character -- but it doesn't really matter, any Pixar film is better than none at all. Both films are scheduled to hit theaters in 2013. Also at the panel was Tim Burton showing off his new project, 'Frankenweenie' (not a Pixar flick by the way, just a Disney production) -- you can see the title art of the movie here. According to the Marvel Live Blog from the event, 'FrankenWeenie' "is a longer, fuller version of the original FrankenWeenie short. Bigger, better! 3D stop motion animation...in black and white." The short they are referring to is the featurette Burton directed in the early '80s. This full version will be using the same stop motion the director did in 'Nightmare Before Christmas.' [via ComingSoon]

Jordan Levin on How Hollywood Stifles Innovation

It has been seven years since Jordan Levin has had to think about managing a fall television schedule.These days, the former WB honcho-turned-Generate chief executive is busy managing amulti-platform studio and talent management firm that counts actor-director Tim Matheson, director-producer Emile Levisetti and comedian Charlie Todd among its clients. Levin and his partners bill their Santa Monica and New York based firm as a next generation media company, as apt to land a ad-sponsored web series as it is to score a TV show or comedy tour.Levin, once referred to as the WB's boy-genius, spoke to "The Hollywood Reporter" about the evolution of the media industry, the future of companies like Netflix and what he describes as the most frustrating part of the entertainment business today.The Hollywood Reporter: Give us the cocktail party version of what Generate does. Jordan Levin: We have a talent management division and production development division with an eye towards multiple platforms. The reason for that is simply because I think the industry is becoming largely divided between those who are in the content business and those who are in the distribution business. You can either bet on the pipes and the technology that curates content or you can bet on the value being on the content. If you're betting on content, which is inherently what myself and my colleagues understand and have a passion for, betting on talent is just doubling down on that bet.THR: You look at a company Netflix, which recently decided it would be in the content business as well. Do you foresee more people try to play in both areas? Levin: I think you have to. Distribution is becoming the commodity -- and the more it becomes commoditized, the point of differentiation in value creation is going to reside around content. I believe that in sort of a supply and demand economy, the media business in which we were all predominantly raised was a business in which there was a relatively fixed pool of talent developing and producing content for a very narrow pipe -- a handful of networks and studios-- and there weren't a lot of choices about where to go if you couldn't sell to one of those gatekeepers. But now with all of the distribution channels and choices that exist, I still believe that the content pool is relatively fixed. Sure, the discovery method of talent has changed; you might discover talent now because of YouTube vs. a spec script, but the crme rises to the top. For anyone who's watching "American Idol," "The Voice" or another talent competition on a grand scale, it becomes very obvious very quickly that talent is still relatively rare.So while we can use digital to source talent, it doesn't mean that under ever rock is going to sprout a much greater talent pool. Again, the need for quality premium content is still going to come from a fixed group of people. The question really comes of valuation around that content. I think it's unfortunate that the valuation that Wall Street and the investment community puts on technology companies is greater than that of content companies. Traditional media companies get a discounted valuation compared to companies who create value on the back of content itself.THR: How does that ultimately change? Levin: I don't know. I think everything eventually comes back to content because as much as business models cater to consumers' needs, people in the investment community tend to forget that people's needs are motivated by what they want to experience, what they want to watch and what they want to hear. Recognizing this has become an education process for every generation. The industry gets itself into an odd cycle wherein technology companies become disproportionally large compared to traditional media companies and those companies start to dictate the shape of business.THR: Any examples spring to mind? Levin: You look back at AOL taking over Time Warner and, in retrospect, everyone scratches their heads and asks, 'How could that happen?' It happened because the Street inflated the value of AOL to such a great degree that it was able to do that. There are technology companies that are evolutionary --in some cases, even revolutionary-- right now, but their value is disproportionally higher than that of traditional mediacompanies whose revenues, income and EBITDA are greater. THR: Why would you say that is? Levin: The content business is perceived as a business that isn't easily repeatable. There's no formula to it that guarantees success again and again. Obviously it's a people intensive business. The markets tend to reward companies that can trade a widget or a piece of code because it can be replicated over and over again. And, as we know, people sitting at home watching TV or movies don't want to see the same things over again. A show like "Glee" or a movie like "Bridesmaids" gets rewarded because it's different. THR: What's the most frustrating part of the business today? Levin: How few people are empowered to make decisions and how committee-oriented decision making has become in what is inherently a creative medium. Networks and studios historically that have had any brand resonance in the marketplace have primarilybeen lead by decision makers who rightly or wrongly decide what it is that they want to produce and distribute. I'm concerned that as the entertainment industry has become more consolidated and more of a multi-national conglomerate industry, creative decision-making is being lead more by traditional business standards like research and decision by committee and attempts to replicate what's worked in the past.THR: Which takes a toll on innovation... Levin: Exactly, real innovation gets lost. When you look at certain networks and film studios and you see some of the output of those divisions, you really wonder whether some seminal pieces of popular culture would be created and supported today. While there's certainly a role for research, it's very difficult to find companies where there's a firm hand at the tiller. When you do find them, they're usually leaders in their space. Look at a company like CBS. It make sense that they've been the No. 1 network for as long as they have, because there's a clear point of view through which decision making is framed in Les Moonves. Some people may not always agree with what his decisions are, but they all respect the fact that he's willing to make a decision and stand by it. THR: Would you consider returning to a network chief gig? Levin: Surprisingly, I get asked that a lot. My answer is that I miss aspects of it very much. I miss being in a seat where you could hear something, get excited about it and get it made and distributed to other people. That sort of curatorial ability was really rewarding, but I'm not sure whether or not the job that I had exists anymore.I was really lucky to have mentors like Bob Daly, Jamie Kellner, Garth Ancier, Bruce Rosenblum and Barry Meyer who were all very respectful in allowing Susanne Daniels and me to make decisions. They allowed us to put on a program like "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" whenmaybe they didn't all see it. I just don't think people are empowered to that degree anymore.The challenge of being in that position and trying to rethink what a network is and what it means to be a programming head is extremely exciting in this era, but who the companies are that are really thinking about how to make that change -- how to move forward instead of hanging on to the past -- is unclear to me. The Hollywood Reporter

'Austin Powers' Sequel Sounds Groovy To Mike Myers

FROM MTV MOVIES: Oh behave, "Austin Powers" fans, because a sequel might not be in the works just yet. News broke over the weekend that Mike Myers was "signed, sealed, delivered" for "Austin Powers 4," the long-awaited follow-up to 2002's "Goldmember." HitFix confirmed that Myers had signed a deal to return to the franchise, but now Deadline New York is reporting otherwise. The entertainment website is saying that, despite Myers' interest in the project, no deal has been signed yet. Apparently all that's happened is that Myers has expressed interest in a proposal for the movie that New Line presented six months ago, and it's not a full-blown deal. The project had seemingly fallen by the wayside after Myers' 2008 flick "The Love Guru" tanked at the box office, and he disappeared from Hollywood (barring a brief appearance in "Inglourious Basterds"). But New Line sought to revitalize the project recently and sent out a new offer about six months ago. Deadline is reporting that Myers' representatives have finally responded that Myers is interested. Read the full story at MTV Movies!

Jonathan Demme Tackling 11/22/63

Stephen King's upcoming sci-fi bookThough The Dark Tower has fallen apart for now, Stephen King is still a hot property when it comes to filmmakers looking to mine his work for source material. The latest to go digging into his fiction is Jonathan Demme, who is planning to write, direct and produce an adaptation of King's 11/22/63. As you might have guessed from that title, the tome will find someone - in this case, 35-year-old high school English teacher Jake Epping - travelling back in time to try and prevent John F Kennedy's assassination in Dallas. King's book doesn't actually hit the shelves until this November, but Demme is still looking for financing anyway, and has a plan to kick off shooting later next year. First, though, he'll track down a distributor. Adapting a book is not exactly new territory for the director: he's had success with the likes of The Manchurian Candidate, Beloved and, most notably, The Silence of the Lambs, which scored several Oscars, including Best Picture and a directing gong for Demme. This latest news of a King adaption comes hot on the heels of Warner Bros. ' plans for The Stand, which is now gearing up with David Yates and Steve Kloves attached...

Aziz Ansari on 30 Minutes or Less, Paying Dues, and His Judd Apatow Collaboration, Spacemen

After contributing scene-stealing but all-too-brief supporting turns in films like Observe & Report, I Love You, Man, and Funny People (“Raaaaandy!”), Aziz Ansari finally gets a full-on leading role in this week’s 30 Minutes or Less as Jesse Eisenberg’s straitlaced BFF/partner in crime, Chet. What took Hollywood so long to give Ansari, who’s currently between seasons stealing yet more scenes on Parks & Recreation, the screen time he deserves? According to Ansari, he’s just been paying his dues. “You look at people like Steve Carell, Will Ferrell and all those guys,” Ansari explained to Movieline during a brief chat at San Diego’s Comic-Con last month, where he joined director Ruben Fleischer (Zombieland), and co-stars Nick Swardson and Michael Pena for the 30 Minutes or Less panel. “They all went through their periods of doing these smaller roles then eventually got their break doing a bigger role.” [Read Movieline’s report from the set of 30 Minutes or Less here.] Said role in 30 Minutes or Less pairs Ansari with Eisenberg as Chet and Nick, respectively, former school friends and semi-slackers forced to rob a bank for $100,000 by local criminals (Swardson and Danny McBride) who outfit Nick with a bomb vest as incentive. It’s the rare opportunity for Ansari to show a new side of his comic persona — still hilarious as ever, but much sweeter than the douche bag characters he’s been known for to date. Movieline spoke with Ansari in San Diego — in the thick of the chaotic, ubernerdy Comic-Con 2011 hustle and bustle — about making 30 Minutes or Less, following in the footsteps of fellow funnymen Will Ferrell and Steve Carell, and his upcoming Spacemen project with Judd Apatow. How have you been enjoying Comic-Con? I’ve just been doing interviews all day! Ah, I see. Has Aziz been bored? [Laughs] I guess so. There’s a lot of fun to be had in 30 Minutes or Less, but I particularly loved the fact that you play a guy named Chet. His name is Chethan, and it’s shortened. I came up with that after the fact, though, because I knew a guy named Chethan and so I said that’s probably why it’s Chet. Aha! Well, in the film Chet is Nick’s BFF and an elementary school teacher who gets wrapped up in this scheme to rob a bank. How did the character we ultimately see onscreen originate and how did you flesh him out from what was on the page? I saw the script and I thought it was really funny, the idea of these two kind of slacker guys having to rob a bank. So as far as that character, Ruben [Fleischer], our director, was really cool about letting all of us kind of make our characters our own and bring in any ideas that we may have had through improvising. Any choices we were excited about making, he would always get behind. That’s always really great, when you’re an actor, to have a director who’s really up for that kind of stuff. Did you improvise on set while you were filming, or did much of it happen beforehand? Wait — yeah, of course while we were filming! It doesn’t help to improvise three months before you shoot the film! [Laughs] No, I mean did you improvise during filming vs. workshopping your characters in rehearsals! Oh! No, no, no. When we were filming we would do scripted takes and then we would improvise takes afterwards, and they did a great job of filtering all the improv stuff and choosing the best stuff from all of that. I don’t remember what was in the script and what was improvised, to be truthful, but there are a lot of moments that are from improv that made it in for sure. What aspect of Chet are you most proud of having played? You know, it was just fun for me to do a character… this was the first time I’ve had, like, a starring role, to be in a film the whole time. Just to do the film the whole time and do my work and be happy with my scenes, I was happy to have pulled that off. Why do you think it’s taken this long to get that kind of starring role? I don’t know, I mean that’s the trajectory of most comedy actors. You look at people like Steve Carell, Will Ferrell and all those guys — they all went through their periods of doing these smaller roles then eventually got their break doing a bigger role. So I think I’m just following the natural path that most people do. You’ve done stand-up, sketch comedy, and television and film — have you had any sort of intended career trajectory in mind for yourself over the years? No — with film stuff, you look at the people that are successful as comedy actors and most of them would do these smaller parts and do a great job and that led to them getting the bigger parts. You know, when I did smaller parts in Funny People, Observe & Report, and those things, I really made an effort to do a good job. I was thinking if I did a good job, then eventually I would get to be in a bigger role. Since I love him so much, I might argue that in Funny People, Randy is not a small part, but in fact is the breakout star of the film. I mean, screen time-wise that would be a tough case to make since I’m in the movie for, like, five minutes. [Laughs] But that’s very nice of you to say. I love Randy. Are you tired of him at all, of the idea floated back around the release of Funny People of reuniting with Judd Apatow to give Randy his own movie? No! I did that character in that movie and I’m glad people liked it. And we’re doing this other movie with Judd that I’m very excited about called Spacemen — it’s me and another guy who play two disgraced astronauts that have to go back to the moon to clear their names. That’s what I’m working on right now with him. What stage is that in at the moment? We’re just working on drafts and hopefully are going to shoot it when I have a hiatus from Parks & Recreation again. Nice. Who’s going to be your fellow spaceman? Don’t know yet! Well, speaking of the two-man buddy dynamic, what was it like working with Jesse in 30 Minutes or Less? Did he hang with that improvisational feel on set? I think he had that already. He was great. I’m such a big fan of his from everything from Social Network to Roger Dodger to Adventureland and Zombieland, I think he’s a really amazing actor. And for this role, I think he does a great job of playing everything very real and kind of grounding the film. He was great to work with. What’s your Comic-Con experience been like? Do you enjoy coming here? I came two years ago, it was a lot of fun! It’s so cool seeing everyone dressed up and everything. I haven’t gotten around to the floor this year but I’m going to go later. Do you feel any kinship with the crowd here? I know I do, when I see folks dressed up in cosplay. I feel like I understand why they do it. See them what? When I see people cosplaying. What’s that? Cosplay! Costume-play? Oh, see I didn’t even know that. Oh yeah. Get with the times. Whoa, I don’t know anything about this. I’ve got to check it out! If you were to dress up in character one of these years, what would you be? You know, I’m a huge fan of stuff — the things I like, I’m a huge fan of. Breaking Bad - that show, I’m a huge fan of that. If I saw someone dressed like Walt and Jesse walking around, I’d be like, ‘That’s awesome!’ 30 Minutes or Less opens nationwide on Friday.

'Hunger Games' Follow up Set To Lose In November 2013

FROM MTV NEWS: Get a fire extinguishers ready, since the world will probably be "Catching Fire" on November 22, 2013. Lionsgate introduced the discharge date for that second installment within the "Hunger Games" film series Monday (August 8), following two new stills in the first flick striking the net. "The Hunger Games" continues to be in production and it is slated for any March 23, 2012, release. "Catching Fire" may be the only movie slotted for that prime 2013 Thanksgiving weekend place. Not sure yet on whether "Catching Fire" will keep Gary Ross as director or whether or not this follows "The Twilight Saga" and "Harry Potter" trend of having new company directors because of its four payments. But, thinking about "The Hunger Games" is near to wrapping, the timing from the announcement leads us to visualize that Lionsgate is trying to keep some continuity in the first movie towards the second. The brand new photos from "The Hunger Games" reveal that the cast is well into filming. The very first still showcases Jennifer Lawrence as Katniss Everdeen in the center of the titular Hunger Games. It's a familiar image in the formerly launched photos, however the "X-Males: Top ClassInch star looks ready for fight together with her quiver filled with arrows. Should you look close enough, you may also see her mockingjay pin peeking on her jacket. Browse the full story at MTV News!

Phineas' pic sets rankings high

Disney Funnel telepic ''Phineas and Ferb: Over the second Dimension'' came 7.six million overall audiences in the premiere Friday, which makes it cable's most-viewed film this year. The film seemed to be cable's No. 1 scripted telecast in a format among kids 6-11 and 9-14 and was greatest in individuals demos to have an animated program since Nickelodeon's ''Fairly OddBaby'' in Feb 2008. ''Across the second Dimension'' defeated all broadcast competition from 8-9:30 p.m. on Friday having a 1.3 rating and 1.7 million audiences in 18-49. Disney Funnel is showing two more encores from the pic before it premieres August. 13 on Disney XD and August 20 on ABC. Contact Jon Weisman at jon.weisman@variety.com