Moana: Disney’s hit animation to get surprise cinema sequel this year

ENTERTAINMENT

Moana is sailing back to cinemas after Disney’s surprise announcement that a film sequel will be released this year.
The story of an adventurous Polynesian girl who sets sail on a mission to save her people was a hit in 2016.
A sequel was mooted as a Disney+ series, but the company will now take it to cinemas instead after a string of underwhelming big screen performances.
The move sets up a box office battle with the first Wicked film, with both scheduled for release on 27 November.
Disney posted a short first trailer showing Moana standing on a beach and blowing into a shell.
The new animated musical will take audiences “on an expansive new voyage with Moana, Maui and a brand-new crew of unlikely seafarers”, the description said.
“After receiving an unexpected call from her wayfinding ancestors, Moana must journey to the far seas of Oceania and into dangerous, long-lost waters for an adventure unlike anything she’s ever faced.”
This time, songwriter Lin-Manuel Miranda – who was nominated for an Oscar for the original – will not work on the music.
That will be created by four composers including songwriting duo Abigail Barlow and Emily Bear, who rose to fame in 2022 after creating an unofficial Bridgerton musical on TikTok.
Disney chief executive Bob Iger said the original Moana was the most streamed movie of 2023 on any platform in the US.
Speaking about the follow-up, he said: “This was originally developed as a series, but we were impressed with what we saw, and we knew it deserved a theatrical release”.
A live action version of the original film is also in development, starring Dwayne Johnson as gregarious demi-God Maui, the character he voiced in the animation.
“Moana remains an incredibly popular franchise, and we can’t wait to give you more of Moana and Maui,” Iger added.
Movie studios usually arrange their schedules several years in advance, making Moana 2 a relatively late entry to Disney’s line-up.
And the move suggests the company is still determined to generate successes at cinemas rather than focusing on streaming.
Walt Disney Animation Studios’ last two films, Wish and Strange World, were both original stories that disappointed at the box office.
Iger said the company was now “leaning a little bit more into sequels and franchises”, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
The Marvels and Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny were among Disney’s other box office disappointments in 2023.
– BBC

Michael Jackson: Stake in catalogue sells for K2.25bil

Sony Music Group is understood to have paid at least $600m (K2.25bil) for half of Michael Jackson’s catalogue.
If accurate, it would mean the singer’s musical assets are worth more than $1.2bn (K4.5bil).
The deal would also be the biggest ever for the work of a single musician.
Michael Jackson, who died in 2009 at the age of 50, is one of the most successful pop stars of all time, selling more than 400 million records worldwide.
That figure is disputed and may be much higher.
His 1982 album, Thriller, is still the best-selling record of all time, according to Guinness World Records.
The King of Pop is also hugely popular on streaming services, with almost 40 million monthly listeners on Spotify. His songs Billie Jean and Beat It have each been played more than one billion times on Spotify alone.
An upcoming film biopic starring Jackson’s nephew in the title role will also undoubtedly increase interest.
The back catalogue deal is also reported to include tracks by other artists acquired by Jackson’s Mijac publishing group, said to include hits by Ray Charles, Elvis Presley and Aretha Franklin.
The sale would have been arranged with the Estate of Michael Jackson, who manage the late star’s affairs.
Artists selling their back catalogues is big business. Bruce Springsteen reportedly made $500m (K1.8bil), while Bob Dylan is understood to have received up to $450m (K1.7bil) for his. – BBC

Actor labels energy hub plans a ‘disaster’

Ralph Fiennes, pictured, has slammed plans to build a new energy hub in the Suffolk countryside.
The actor previously appeared in a film campaigning against proposals to install substations and energy hubs near Aldeburgh.
During an impassioned appearance on Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg he described the plans as a “disaster”.
ScottishPower Renewables (SPR) and National Grid have both previously defended the plans.
An energy hub would be built at Friston and a convertor station near Saxmundham – with pylons used to transfer the power further inland.
– BBC

Kumail says he needed therapy after bad reviews for Marvel’s Eternals

Eternals actor Kumail Nanjiani , pictured, has said he was so affected by bad reviews for the 2021 Marvel film that he started going to therapy as a result.
The star said he had spent months in training to prepare for the role.
But the movie received mixed reviews and disappointed at the box office.
Nanjiani said he was “too aware” of what critics thought, explaining: “It was really, really hard because Marvel thought that movie was going to be really, really well reviewed.”
He added: “So they lifted the embargo early and put it in some fancy movie festivals and they sent us on a big global tour to promote the movie right as the embargo lifted.”
Nanjiani, who is best known for playing Dinesh in HBO comedy series Silicon Valley, said the impact was exacerbated by the press tour taking place during Covid.
Speaking on Michael Rosenbaum’s Inside of You podcast, he said: “I think there was some weird soup in the atmosphere for why that movie got slammed so much, and I think not much of it has to do with the actual quality of the movie. – BBC

Xena Warrior Princess star, 52, looks unrecognisable

Xena Warrior Princess was the legendary nineties TV show starring Lucy Lawless.
It was a spin-off of the original TV series, Hercules: The Legendary Journeys, where Xena was the villain.
But aside from Lucy, another star who was beloved by fans was Renee O’Connor who played her sidekick Gabrielle in Xena: Warrior Princess, reports The Sun.
It’s been 23 years since Renee, 52, has played the iconic character and now she looks almost unrecognisable from her TV heyday.
The braids are now nowhere to be seen and the shoulder length hair is mostly styled into a chic bob.
She was chosen to play the role after her role in the television movie, Hercules and the Lost Kingdom.
She was involved in the program for six years, first joining in 1995 until the end of the show in 2001. The icon was known for her trademark weapons, which included the Amazon fighting staff. – news.com.au