ie8 fix

Disney

Hulu buyout heats up with four reported bidders

Companies looking to get a piece of the Hulu pie had until this week to put in their first round of bids for the video streaming service. And, it appears that four companies have gone in for a slice.

Former News Corp president Peter Chernin, private equity fund Guggenheim Digital Media (which is headed the former interim Yahoo CEO by Ross Levinsohn), satellite operator DirecTV, and cable operator Time Warner Cable have all put in bids, according to Reuters.

Hulu has supposedly been looking for a buyer over the past couple of years, and recently several companies have allegedly expressed … Read more

Meet the 23-ton X-Wing, the world's largest Lego model

There's big, then there's really big, and then there's colossal, which might be a good word to use when describing a near 46,000-pound Lego X-Wing that made a triumphant debut Thursday in New York's Times Square.

The full-size replica, about 42 times the size of the Lego "Star Wars" X-Wing (#9493) set available on store shelves, celebrates the debut of Cartoon Network's "The Yoda Chronicles," which premieres on May 29 at 8 p.m. … Read more

Disney making 'Star Wars Rebels,' a new animated show

Disney said today that it has begun production on "Star Wars Rebels," a new animated television series. It will air in 2014, first as a one-hour special, and then will continue as a regular series.

The special will be shown on the Disney Channel, while the series will air first on Disney XD channels globally, Disney said. It will be produced by LucasFilm Animation.

The announcement that production has commenced on "Star Wars Rebels" comes just two months after Disney shut down "Star Wars: The Clone Wars," a popular and long-running cartoon series. What's unclear is whether the announcement of "Star Wars Rebels" will do anything to ease the enmity toward Disney that has sprung up in the wake of the "Clone Wars" shutdown, as well as the closure of LucasArts, the video game arm of LucasFilm. … Read more

Watch ABC app arrives with live TV for iOS, Web

ABC's new live TV video service Watch ABC has arrived on smartphones, tablets, and the Web, though its availability is highly limited for now.

Disney/ABC on Tuesday announced the availability of the live programming feature in its mobile app in New York City as well as Philadelphia though local respective networks WABC-TV and WPVI. The update adds a "live" button to ABC's newly renamed Watch ABC software for iOS devices that lets users in those markets watch live streams of those two stations, just like they would on a TV.

News of the feature came over the weekendRead more

ABC will reportedly launch TV streaming app this week

Television network ABC will reportedly launch an app this week that will allow residents of New York and Philadelphia to watch local programming live on their iPhones and iPads.

The new app will deliver live broadcasts from the local ABC stations at the touch of a "Live" button, making ABC the first U.S. broadcaster to embark on constant live streaming for smartphones and tablets, according to The New York Times. The app is expected to deliver the same programming viewed on traditional sets, except to Internet-connected mobile devices, where ever they happen to be.

The live stream, … Read more

Disney turns you into a 3D-printed Stormtrooper

Even if you're too short to join the Galactic Empire as a Stormtrooper, at least you can still see yourself as one with the magic of 3D scanning and printing.

For $99.95, visitors to Florida's Walt Disney World during "Star Wars" Weekends (running each weekend from May 17 to June 9) can immortalize themselves as a 7.5-inch-tall Stormtrooper figurine. In some ways, it's probably a better deal than being a real Stormtrooper. They usually end up getting vaporized aboard a Death Star or miss every shot they fire at fleeing Rebels. … Read more

EA is the 'Star Wars' games company Disney is looking for

Disney and Electronic Arts said today that the two entertainment giants have signed an exclusive deal under which EA will begin developing and publishing a series of new "Star Wars" video games.

In a release, Disney and EA said that the new "Star Wars" games will be created for "a core gaming audience," and that they will be developed for "all interactive platforms and the most popular game genres."

However, while the deal was termed "exclusive," the announcement noted that Disney will still maintain the right to develop other new … Read more

Disney shuttering LucasArts, moving to licensed games model

Disney has shut down LucasArts, the video game arm of the Lucas entertainment empire, laying off its staff and ceasing its development of two forthcoming "Star Wars" games.

"After evaluating our position in the games market, we've decided to shift LucasArts from an internal development to a licensing model, minimizing the company's risk while achieving a broader portfolio of quality Star Wars games," LucasFilm said in a statement. "As a result of this change, we've had layoffs across the organization. We are incredibly appreciative and proud of the talented teams who have … Read more

Get psyched over this fan-made 'Star Wars: Episode VII' poster

If you're on the fence about seeing an elder Luke, Han, and Leia return to the next installment of "Star Wars," it's possible artist Adam Schickling's illustration of a mock "Episode VII" poster could get you in the mood to see some geriatric Jedis on the silver screen.

Schickling, a 37-year-old professional illustrator based in New York, drew and painted the 30x40-inch "Star Wars" art by hand over the course of four weeks. The mock poster features most of the beloved characters from the original trilogy -- including Luke, Han, Leia, Chewbacca, Lando, R2-D2, and C-3PO -- with some extra gray hair and wrinkles. Well, except the droids, who don't really age.… Read more