Entertainment News for Early November 2008
"CAT IN THE HAT" ATTEMPTS A COMEBACK
Five years after the disastrous 2003 live action version of The Cat in the Hat, the Theodor Geisel estate confirms it has reached a compromise with Peacock and TBS+Paramount.
Audrey Geisel, Ted's widow, was joined by Sam Register of Paramount Animation and Jeffrey Katzenberg of Peacock Animation at a press conference in Springfield, Massachusetts (Ted's hometown). There, it was confirmed that TBS+Paramount would retain the rights to Chuck Jones and Friz Freleng's 1971 animated version, originally released by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, now a TBS+Paramount subsidiary. Peacock would retain the rights to not only the theme park rights to the Cat and Geisel's other characters, but also the infamous 2003 live action version which featured Mike Myers as the Cat.
A new animated series, The Cat in the Hat Knows a Lot About That!, will debut either on the Cartoon Network or USA Cartoon Express in the fall of 2010. A coin toss to be held at a later date will determine if either TBS+Paramount or Peacock will handle distribution in North America while the loser gets overseas rights.
- Variety
Arnold Leibovit confirms he has reached an agreement with TBS+Paramount and Limited Run on VHS reissues of George Pal's 1940's Puppetoons starting in Fall 2010.
- The Hollywood Reporter
Luxor Pictures moves Shezow 3 from 2011 to 2012 to facilitate director Christopher Nolan's committment to Inception, slated for a Summer 2010 release.
- Entertainment Tonight
Amid continuing progress on her weight loss journey, Del St. Pierre announces on her Myspace page that her doctors have cleared her to resume touring and recording starting in January of 2009.
- MTV News
Proctor and Gamble reinstates its sponsorship of ABC's The View. The Cincinnati-based parent company of Pampers and Luvs among other products previously pulled its advertising amid backlash from Elisabeth Hasselbeck's line of questioning during a segment featuring Tiffany Disney, the 25-year old owner of the defending Stanley Cup champion Mighty Ducks of San Diego.
- E! News
After a long, time-consuming process to count the votes, incumbent Orlando mayor Buddy Dyer (D-FL) wins re-election after a bitter challenge from embattled boy band mogul and Miramax/Bain Capital crony Lou Pearlman.
- The Orlando Sentinel