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Right on the heels of Paramount’s Iron Man 2 trailer debut, Disney finally released the official version of the new Tron Legacy trailer today via an online viral puzzle that continues the film’s marketing theme employed thus far.

It’s beyond cool watching this trailer and hearing Jeff Bridges voice right after he won the Best Actor Oscar for Crazy Heart. Even cooler to see what appears to be a younger version of Bridges as Kevin Flynn alive and well within the Tron world.

You can view the trailer in a huge high definition format by downloading it from the viral website at http://www.program-glitch-esc.net .

Tron Legacy stars Garrett Hedlund, Jeff Bridges and Olivia Wilde. It will arrive in theaters on December 17.

BURBANK, Calif. & NEW YORK, Aug 31, 2009 (BUSINESS WIRE) — –Acquisition highlights Disney’s strategic focus on quality branded content, technological innovation and international expansion to build long-term shareholder value

–An investor conference call will take place at approximately 10:15 a.m. EDT / 7:15 a.m. PDT August 31, 2009. Details for the call are listed in the release.

Building on its strategy of delivering quality branded content to people around the world, The Walt Disney Company /quotes/comstock/13*!dis/quotes/nls/dis (DIS 26.12, -0.72, -2.69%) has agreed to acquire Marvel Entertainment, Inc. /quotes/comstock/13*!mvl/quotes/nls/mvl (MVL 48.48, +9.83, +25.44%) in a stock and cash transaction, the companies announced today.

Under the terms of the agreement and based on the closing price of Disney on August 28, 2009, Marvel shareholders would receive a total of $30 per share in cash plus approximately 0.745 Disney shares for each Marvel share they own. At closing, the amount of cash and stock will be adjusted if necessary so that the total value of the Disney stock issued as merger consideration based on its trading value at that time is not less than 40% of the total merger consideration.

Based on the closing price of Disney stock on Friday, August 28, the transaction value is $50 per Marvel share or approximately $4 billion.

"This transaction combines Marvel’s strong global brand and world-renowned library of characters including Iron Man, Spider-Man, X-Men, Captain America, Fantastic Four and Thor with Disney’s creative skills, unparalleled global portfolio of entertainment properties, and a business structure that maximizes the value of creative properties across multiple platforms and territories," said Robert A. Iger, President and Chief Executive Officer of The Walt Disney Company. "Ike Perlmutter and his team have done an impressive job of nurturing these properties and have created significant value. We are pleased to bring this talent and these great assets to Disney."

"We believe that adding Marvel to Disney’s unique portfolio of brands provides significant opportunities for long-term growth and value creation," Iger said.

"Disney is the perfect home for Marvel’s fantastic library of characters given its proven ability to expand content creation and licensing businesses," said Ike Perlmutter, Marvel’s Chief Executive Officer. "This is an unparalleled opportunity for Marvel to build upon its vibrant brand and character properties by accessing Disney’s tremendous global organization and infrastructure around the world."

Under the deal, Disney will acquire ownership of Marvel including its more than 5,000 Marvel characters. Mr. Perlmutter will oversee the Marvel properties, and will work directly with Disney’s global lines of business to build and further integrate Marvel’s properties.

The Boards of Directors of Disney and Marvel have each approved the transaction, which is subject to clearance under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act, certain non-United States merger control regulations, effectiveness of a registration statement with respect to Disney shares issued in the transaction and other customary closing conditions. The agreement will require the approval of Marvel shareholders. Marvel was advised on the transaction by BofA Merrill Lynch.

Investor Conference Call:

An investor conference call will take place at approximately 10:15 a.m. EDT / 7:15 a.m. PDT today, August 31, 2009. To listen to the Webcast, turn your browser to http://corporate.disney.go.com/investors/presentations.html or dial in domestically at 800-260-8140 or internationally at 617-614-3672. For both dial-in numbers, the participant pass code is 51214527.

Reposting from George R R Martin’s LJ Blog

Well, Reuters has the story out already, so there’s no longer any reason for me to keep mum. Yes, the rumors you’ve been seeing all over the web the last few days are true. Another huge piece has fallen into place for the HBO pilot of A GAME OF THRONES — we have signed Sean Bean to play the part of Lord Eddard Stark. For the movie fans out there, Sean Bean needs no introduction. I mean, what the hell, he was Boromir and he was Sharpe, he was terrific in both roles, and in a hundred other parts besides. I can’t imagine a better Ned. The deal took some doing, so my fingers have been crossed for a month now (and boy, that made it hard to type), but now it’s done, and I’m thrilled.

That’s only part of the exciting news, however. Casting has been proceeding apace these past six weeks or so — in New York and LA, London and Dublin, most recently in Australia. David and Dan and director Tom McCarthy have been looking all over the world for the right actors, and now they’ve filled some key roles as well.

 

For King Robert I Baratheon, we’ve got Mark Addy, a veteran British actor of stage and screen that many of you may remember from his fine turn in A KNIGHT’S TALE.

The roles of Joffrey Baratheon, the crown prince, and Viserys Targaryen, the beggar king, have also been filled… by Jack Gleeson and Harry Lloyd, respectively. Sorry, I haven’t been able to find pictures of them on the internet yet, though I’m sure they are out there somewhere. I’ve seen readings by both Gleeson and Lloyd, and both should be terrific.

And last, but certainly not least, the role of the bastard Jon Snow will be played by a young actor named Kit Harington. You probably haven’t heard of him yet… but you will, we’re confident. David and Dan can’t say enough about his talent and intensity.

Of course, there’s a lot more roles still to fill, including some very crucial ones like the Lannister twins, the Stark children, and Daenerys Targaryen, so the search will continue for awhile. But we’ve begun, and so far I couldn’t be happier. October is right around the corner.

The HOLLYWOOD REPORTER has let slip some of the casting that’s already been done for the upcoming series adaptation of George RR Martin’s Song of Icr and Fire. http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/hr/content_display/television/news/e3icaec2feffc977edcd7939413cf46b0d9
Jennifer Ehle has been cast as Catelyn Stark.

Most of you will know her best from her portrayal of Elizabeth Bennet in the BBC’s miniseries of PRIDE AND PREJUDICE in 1995, but she’s got all sorts of other credits, she’s won a BAFTA Award and two Tonys, and she will be a wonderful Catelyn.

So it’s definitely not as hot up here as they’re making it sound. You’d think at 100 degrees that they think that the world is about to melt, but then if I didn’t spend a chunk of time in the central valley at events, I’d probably agree with them since SF is nearly always permanently under pleasant temperatures similar to Seattle (though sans all the year long wet).

But I have to say that I’ve become a total punk when it comes to dealing with the humidity levels. How I ever managed to survive the seasons at KCRF, I’ll never know.

The people so far have all been very nice. It’s been interesting seeing what’s effectively a very mirror mirror experience. The various roles within a production seem to have particular personalities that gravitate towards them. Meeting their own analogs to Durelle, Gavan, Beaker, Queenie, Myself, and others has been a combination of fascinating and enjoyable. I’m sure it’ll not all be smooth going (wouldn’t expect it to be when there’s strong personalities involved in a passionate endeavor), but I think it’ll be a good experience and a learning one.

I am enjoying poking holes in all manner of Vendor myths about me. There’s really two versions of the Myths, the really good and the really bad, and very little in between. More on that in tomorrow’s update.

For now tho, bedtime…