Disney announced on Monday a new Pixar film would be released November 27, 2013, Deadline reports, though the House of Mouse withheld any information on title or plot. All they would reveal is that it will be an original story, not a sequel.
The 3D animation studio has a full roster of upcoming releases, the next being "Cars 2," which hits theaters on Friday. They'll premiere a "Toy Story" short, "Hawaiian Vacation," about Barbie and Ken before the showing of "Cars 2," and an untitled short before Disney's November release of "The Muppets." They'll also release Spanish-language short, "La Luna" in 2011.
In 2012, they will help out with the release of the Jerry Bruckheimer/Disney adventure film, "John Carter," and then release the studio's first film about a female hero in "Brave." Then, in 2013, a sequel to "Monsters, Inc.," titled "Monsters University" will hit theaters.
So, where does that leave this new mystery film? Right now, "Up" director and Pixar legend Pete Docter, who has had a major drawing and story hand in nearly all of the studio's big releases, is working on an untitled mystery project, to be released in 2013.
One is a beloved classic franchise of Hollywood-centric, musical theater-singing animal puppets. The other, a new hit medieval fantasy show about killing people. So it's only a natural fit that they're mashed up together.
Where most people would see the Muppets and the HBO hit "Game of Thrones" as entirely disparate worlds, artist and director Yehudi Mercado saw parallels. So many, in fact, that he just had to draw them.
The initial inspiration, he told The Huffington Post, came from a conversation with his comic book writing friend, Paul Benjamin, who had done the Muppets version of King Arthur, a much cleaner, classic medieval-muppets mashup. That four book series was part of a longer line of Muppet spins on classic fairytales; there's also Muppet Robin Hood, Muppet Peter Pan, Muppet Snow White and Muppet Sherlock Holmes.
But while he "had fun matching [Muppets] with inappropriate properties," the real aha! moment came was borne of one casual visual connection.
"The idea of mashing-up Muppets with 'Game of Thrones' started with the Varys character (the bald eunuch), I thought he looked a lot like Dr. Bunsen Honeydew," Mercado said. "That revelation led me to Kermit the Stark and then the rest naturally fell into place. Miss Piggy as Cersei, Link Hogthrob as Jaime Lannister... I knew I had something special when I paired the barbaric Kahl Drogo with Animal. Rizzo as Joffrey was a fan suggestion. I still plan to draw Sweetums as The Hound and Robin as the little crippled Bran Stark."
It takes some knowledge of the HBO show to fully understand his references, there's no question that the pictures speak for themselves. Check out a number of the great images below, and click over to Yehudi's Game of Thrones of Muppets website to see them all, and buy prints.
Gay couples and proponents of gay rights have a reason to celebrate tonight, as the New York State Senate has passed a bill that allows same sex marriage.
New York will be the sixth, and largest, state in the union to adopt gay marriage. Governor Cuomo signed the bill into law at 11:15pm on Friday, which means the law will take effect on July 24, 2011.
The decision, which passed 33-29, was the culmination of weeks of contentious debate and negotiations between Governor Cuomo and the GOP-controlled Senate. After the bill passed in the Assembly, it was unclear if the bill had secured enough votes to pass in the Senate. When a few notable undecideds joined the cause --including Republican Roy McDonald who famously defended his decision, saying "fuck it, I don't care what you think. I'm trying to do the right thing" -- the scale in favor of gay marriage seemed to tip.
Gay rights advocates are hoping the vote will galvanize the movement around the country and help it regain momentum after an almost identical bill was defeated here in 2009 and similar measures failed in 2010 in New Jersey and this year in Maryland and Rhode Island.
"We are leaders and we join other proud states that recognize our families and the battle will now go on in other states," said Sen. Thomas Duane, a Democrat.
Though New York is a relative latecomer in allowing gay marriage, it is considered an important prize for advocates, given the state's size and New York City's international stature and its role as the birthplace of the gay rights movement, which is considered to have started with the Stonewall riots in Greenwich Village in 1969.
A huge street party erupted outside the Stonewall Inn Friday night, with celebrants waving rainbow flags and dancing after the historic vote. They included Sarah Ellis, who has been in a six-year relationship with her partner, Kristen Henderson, said the measure would enable them to get married in the fall. They have twin toddlers and live in Sea Cliff on Long Island.
