HSM at WDW and DCA & More

With the record-setting success of High School Musical, it is no surprise that Disney's park division wants a little piece of that pie as well. A live show based on the original movie will close on both coasts to make way for a brand new one inspired by the sequel. HSM 2 will be performed daily at both Disney's California Adventure in Anaheim and the Disney-MGM Studios in Orlando. And sorry, guys and gals, but Zac Efron will not be in it.

Also at the park that will soon be known as Disney's Hollywood Studios, rumors are swirling around my beloved Great Movie Ride, including the removal of Johnny Weismuller's Tarzan (who does swing both ways) and the replacement of the Alien scene with one from ... The Lord of the Rings ??!! Elsewhere in the Studios, word has it that a Ratatouille-themed coaster (in the style of the Finding Nemo one at Disneyland Paris) may make its home in the newly christened "Pixar Place" area of the park.

Big changes are underway over at Epcot, which will reportedly revert back to its original moniker "EPCOT Center" in the near future. Martin Short is the star of the new Canadian Circlevision film and the "Muppet Mobile Labs" recently made an appearance prior to jetting over to Hong Kong Disneyland. Plus, during the International Food and Wine Festival, guests will be able to enjoy "Beats While You Eat", with such live musical acts as Sheena Easton, Juice Newton and ... the Village People ??!!

In more Disneyland news, Tomorrowland may get yet another makeover, this time themed to Star Wars. And don't forget the park's "unofficial" Gay Days are coming in October.

And finally: Both US Universal Studios theme parks have closed their Back to the Future rides in preparation for the upcoming Simpsons-themed attraction. D'oh!

Links via Screamscape.com, OrlandoSentinel.com, RCDB.com, TheDisneyBlog.com, LaughingPlace.com and GayDaysAnaheim.com.

Women We Love: Cate Blanchett

How does the cliché go? "So-and-so actor is so good, I'd watch him read the phone book"? Well, with Cate Blanchett, we'd watch her read a binary code; I'm sure she would make all those 1's and 0's riveting.

Most people "discovered" Blanchett with her brilliant, mesmerizing performance as Elizabeth; she made royalty sexy and alluring, earning her first Oscar nomination. Next, she delighted us with a string of supporting turns in a variety of films, from An Ideal Husband to The Talented Mr. Ripley to The Shipping News to The Lord of the Rings trilogy (her elfin goddess was so ethereal, she was downright scary).

More title roles in Charlotte Gray and Veronica Guerin followed, as well as her movie-stealing dual role as "herself" and her chain-smoking "cousin" in Coffee and Cigarettes, but it was her spot-on Katharine Hepburn in Martin Scorsese's The Aviator that caught the Academy's attention again. She became the first actor to win an Academy Award for portraying an Academy Award-winning actor.

Last year was a big one for Blanchett, starring in three high-profile dramas: Babel, The Good German and Notes on a Scandal (another Oscar nod). However, this year is shaping up to be another busy one for the actress, playing two disparate icons in two very different biopics: Bob Dylan (yes, Bob Dylan) in Todd Haynes' I'm Not There and the Virgin Queen again in Elizabeth: The Golden Age. I have a feeling Blanchett will be very busy come awards time this year as well.

Links via Imdb.com and AwardsDaily.com.

Out in Film: Ian McKellen

I am not aware of what exactly was going through the mind of Ian McKellen when he publicly came out in 1988, but I am fairly certain he did not think he would be as big a star as he is now, almost twenty-years later.

Following his acclaimed role as gay Frankenstein director James Whale in Gods and Monsters (landing him his first Oscar nomination, the first out gay actor nominated for playing a gay character), McKellen went on to star in two of the most successful trilogies in movie history, The Lord of the Rings and X-Men. In these two fantasy franchises, McKellen displayed his inarguable range, playing the noble, heroic wizard Gandalf (his second Oscar nomination) in the former, the cold-blooded, calculating evil mutant Magneto in the latter.

Prior to those heights, McKellen turned in compelling lead performances in Richard III and Apt Pupil, as well as memorable character parts in Six Degrees of Separation and Bent. With magic and mutants behind him now, he has recently appeared in The Da Vinci Code and won an Annie Award for his droll toad in the animated Flushed Away. He will next be 'heard' again as the narrator of Stardust and seen onstage as King Lear.

Knighted in 1990, Sir Ian McKellen is also very active in gay rights issues and continues to be an inspiration both on and off screen.

Link via Imdb.com.

CGI Will Always Love You

When it comes to making lists, Entertainment Weekly is not known for a vast knowledge in film history. In fact, it seems to go back only as far as the birth days of their interns.

So, you would think that a top 10 list of computer-generated characters would be more up their alley, considering the first use of the technology was only back in the 80's. No such luck. Not only is the oldest film on the list (Jurassic Park) dated 1993, but they actually placed not one, but two movies that are barely months old (Spider-Man 3, Transformers).

In addition to this shortsightedness, such impressive creations as the "water aliens" from The Abyss, the hippogriff in Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban and Sonny from I, Robot are MIA. These were truly 'pixilized' performances that made you go "wow", as opposed to ... Casper? And that's not even delving into the vast Pixar oeuvre.

Sigh. At least they got some right (if not exactly in the right spots), as my top 5 from the list attests:

1. Woody and Buzz from Toy Story: Gotta give props to my boys from the first ever all-computer animated feature, which should have bumped them higher then EW's #7.
2. Gollum in The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers and ...
3. Davy Jones in Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest: EW has them switched, but really, could Davy have existed without Gollum before him?
4. Yoda in Star Wars: Episode II - Attack of the Clones: Freed of Muppetry, the Jedi Master kicked ass in this movie. Although he'll always sound like Grover to me.
5. The Tyrannosaurus rex in Jurassic Park: I'll let EW slide on this one, as a lot of the T-rex's scenes used a life-sized animatronic as well as CGI. Factor in all the other dinos from the film (especially the raptors) and I'll buy it.

Links via EW.com and LaughingPlace.com.