An All-Star Cast for DreamWorks

Chris Pine, Hugh Jackman, Jude Law, Alec Baldwin and Isla Fisher will voice the lead roles in DreamWorks Animation's 3D epic "Rise of the Guardians."

Peter Ramsey is directing the pic based on "The Guardians of Childhood," an upcoming series of children's books by William Joyce, who will co-direct.

Guillermo del Toro and Michael Siegel are exec producing, while Christina Steinberg and Nancy Bernstein will serve as producers.

Pulitzer Prize winner David Lindsay-Abaire wrote the screenplay, which follows a group of heroic childhood legends, each with extraordinary abilities. When Pitch (Law), an evil spirit akin to the boogeyman, lays down the gauntlet to take over the world, the immortal Guardians must join forces for the first time to protect the hopes, beliefs and imagination of children all over the world.

Project was originally announced in December 2009, with Leonardo DiCaprio voicing Jack Frost, a role Pine will be taking over. He'll be joined by Jackman's Bunnymund (the Easter Bunny), Baldwin's North (Santa Claus) and Fisher's Tooth (the Tooth Fairy).

"It's a thrill to be working with such an all-star team of actors and filmmakers," Bill Damaschke, DWA's chief creative officer, said in a statement to Variety. "When we bring Bill Joyce's imaginative vision to the screen in 2012, audiences will experience an incredible story with a truly epic sense of adventure."

DWA will release the film on Nov. 21, 2012.
via Variety

Proud

Photo Credit: McDonald's

McDonald's Corp. added President and Chief Operating Officer Don Thompson to its board of directors, a move that signals he is in line to succeed McDonald's CEO Jim Skinner.

Mr. Thompson, 47, stepped into his current posts in January 2010.

“Don provides our global organization with energetic and experienced leadership and has a passion and commitment to the core values of the company,” Mr. Skinner said.

Andrew McKenna Sr., chairman of Oak Brook-based McDonald's board, added, “With his strong global insights, he will bring valuable experience to our board."

Mr. Thompson joined the company in 1990 as an electrical engineer and later transferred to operations, rising to domestic chief operating officer, executive vice-president and division president and later president of McDonald's USA. He is also on the boards of Chicago-based Exelon Corp. and Northwestern Memorial Hospital.

via Crain's

Tip of the Day

Ditch your Cable
"Opt for Netflix, Hulu and even Redbox if you have too. I noticed my cable bill was more than $160 per month. That would probably be okay if I actually watched tv, but since I work all day and normally unwind with a movie at night, the cable expense was unnecessary. Instead I opted for Netflix, which gives me access to tons of movies for just $9.99 per month. I also added a $7.99 Hulu subscription so I wouldn’t miss all the great TV shows I love like House, Modern Family, and Undercover Boss. I have more than enough to watch, without the headache of a massive cable bill each month."

via BrandMakerNews

Rest Stop....Not Really!

Thank you to all my readers and commentators. Without you, I would have not reached this point of 10,000 VIEWS. Over the next weeks, months and decades, this blog will do nothing but evolve with IDEAS - especially with your help. Please share with others!

One Life,
Alessandro Echols

Be the Change

"Be the change you wish to see in the world." -Mahatma Gandhi

Saying Yes To The Universe

January 20, 2011
DailyOM
Making The Decision
Saying Yes To The Universe

The hardest thing about saying yes to the universe is that it means accepting everything life puts in front of us. Most of us have a habit of going through our days saying no to the things we don’t like and yes to the things we do, and yet, everything we encounter is our life. We may be afraid that if we say yes to the things we don’t like, we will be stuck with them forever, but really, it is only through acknowledging the existence of what’s not working for us that we can begin the process of change. So saying yes doesn’t mean indiscriminately accepting things that don’t work for us. It means conversing with the universe, and starting the conversation with a very powerful word — yes.

When we say yes to the universe, we enter into a state of trust that whatever our situation is, we can work with it. We express confidence in ourselves, and the universe, and we also express a willingness to learn from whatever comes our way, rather than running and hiding when we don’t like what we see. The question we might ask ourselves is what it will take for us to get to the point of saying yes. For some of us, it takes coming up against something we can’t ignore, escape, or deny, and so we are left no choice but to say yes. For others, it just seems a natural progression of events that leads us to making the decision to say yes to life.

The first step to saying yes is realizing that in the end it is so much easier than the alternative. Once we understand this, we can begin examining the moments when we resist what is happening, and experiment with occasionally saying yes instead. It might be scary at first, and even painful at times, but if we continue to say yes to every moment through the process, we will discover the joy of being in a positive conversation with a force much bigger than ourselves.
via dailyom