disney

Disney confirms J.J. Abrams to direct next 'Star Wars'

Disney and Lucasfilm confirmed this evening that "Star Trek" director J.J. Abrams will direct the next 'Star Wars' film, expected to be released in 2015.

The news is not unexpected. Yesterday, word leaked out that Abrams was the likely choice, setting off a flurry of discussion online about the same director being in charge of both the "Star Trek" and "Star Wars" franchises at the same time. But tonight, the news was officially announced.

After a bevy of emails and phone calls, the formalities have been wrapped up, and at long last everyone … Read more

10 funny tweets about J.J. Abrams directing 'Star Wars'

Take a deep breath, perhaps even a Darth Vader-size breath. Reports indicate that Disney chose "Star Trek" director J.J. Abrams to direct the upcoming "Star Wars: Episode VII" sci-fi epic due in 2015. Have a laugh at a few of the amusing tweets about the rumored news, which caused a level of excitement perhaps equivalent to the noise inside Obi-Wan's head after the destruction of Alderaan.

One Twitter user quipped about how ol' J.J. seems to have his hand in everything star-related.

Might as well give J.J. Abrams Dancing with the Stars, … Read more

J.J. Abrams: One director to rule them all?

Since 1977, there's been "Star Trek" and there's been "Star Wars" and never the twain shall meet.

It's not that fans of one franchise couldn't be fans of the other. But for the most part, if you were involved in the production of one, you weren't involved in the other. But now, with word out of Hollywood that "Star Trek" and "Star Trek Into Darkness" director J.J. Abrams may helm the forthcoming "Star Wars Episode VII," we may have an unprecedented mixing of the … Read more

Disney seeks patent that hints at gaming console

The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office has logged a patent application from Disney that points toward a gaming console that focuses on 3D augmented reality, which may provide a hint about the company's reported gaming endeavor, the Toy Box.

The patent application describes techniques underlying a device that can capture a real scene and then augment it, such as taking a picture of a coffee mug on top of a table and then animating the cup. When the user looks at the mug through the device, it will look like a cartoon character, for example. The images included … Read more

Disney Storybook apps sale brings good tidings

The holidays have arrived. I'm sure with the launch of the new iPads, many young ones may find them, or possibly iTunes gift cards, in their stockings. In light of this, I bring good tidings.

Starting December 21 and running through January 2, Disney Publishing has specially priced some of its more popular titles, including Tangled: Storybook Deluxe; Brave: Storybook Deluxe; Finding Nemo: Storybook Deluxe; and Cars 2: Storybook Deluxe. Normally retailing for $6.99 with the exception of Cars 2 at $5.99 in the iTunes App Store, they will all be reduced to $2.99. … Read more

Disney buys Lucasfilm

Will 2012 be remembered as the year Lucasfilm went to the dark side?

We'll know in a few years, when the first Disney-produced "Star Wars" movie is released. Yes, the Hollywood giant agreed to pay more than $4 billion for George Lucas' media empire. The news touched a nerve with Star Wars nerds everywhere, who immediately feared for the future of the storied series, with visions of Mickey Mouse-shaped Death Stars and saccharine, family-friendly story lines. We'll find out whether our fears of a Disney-fied galaxy far, far away are founded in 2015, when Disney plans … Read more

Instagram-Twitter feud fudges photos

Wednesday's CNET Update won't cut you off:

Instagram and Twitter aren't playing nice, and it's annoying users. As the two services compete in the photo-sharing space, Instagram stopped supporting a key Twitter feature that helps display media inside a tweet. The casual user won't notice anything different on the Twitter website. But on Twitter's mobile app, you will notice that Instagram photos are no longer properly formatted to fit.

Why would Instagram spoil the appearance of photos shared on Twitter? Because Facebook-owned Instagram is growing its website and wants you to stay on its … Read more

With Disney deal, did Netflix take a risky gamble?

Netflix CEO Reed Hastings is starting to look more like the guy who helped Netflix seize an early lead in Internet movie streaming and boost the company's share price last year above $300.

The Web's top video-rental service is being applauded after announcing yesterday that it had reached an agreement to become the exclusive subscription TV service to offer Disney's films starting in 2016. Netflix will get access to new releases from the studio during a span of time known in Hollywood as the pay-TV window, i.e., after the films have appeared in theaters and gone … Read more

The skinny on Netflix-Disney deal (FAQ)

Disney said today that it has signed an exclusive film distribution deal with Netflix starting in 2016.

Netflix will become the only U.S. subscription TV service to offer films from Pixar, Marvel, Walt Disney Animation and Disneynature. Wall Street seemed overjoyed by the news. Netflix shares rose 14 percent following the announcement.

To help readers better understand the deal, CNET has put together this FAQ.

Why is this agreement special? It's the first time that Netflix has acquired access to relatively newer movies from one of Hollywood's top six film studios. Netflix has plenty of titles produced … Read more