Peanuts movie gets the right producer

Deadline.com is reporting that a new producer has been brought on board… and it gave me quite a pause, because, well, it’s the right guy.

For those of you who don’t know the work of Paul Feig, he basically appeared in the big-time showbiz world as the creator of Freaks and Geeks, a short-lived light drama from 1999 that was made by a group of folks who would basically take over Hollywood (showrunner Judd Apatow, stars Seth Rogen, Jason Segel, James Franco), with the theme of the pain of adolescence and the teenage years. I was a fan of it going back to its first airing (I’m glad to see it continues to grow in attention, well after it was cancelled after a mere 12 episodes.) Feig is someone who carries his young awkwardness around with him, writing prose books about that aspect of his background. So he has that focus.

He also has the ability to make an effective and successful comedic film. In 2011, it was Bridesmaids. This year, The Heat. I think this is a good choice to help keep the film’s focus and do so in a creatively and commercially successful way. I’m looking forward to the result all the more now!

Animated Peanuts
We finally know how Charlie Brown did at the Super Bowl!

If you’ve never seen the 1994 Peanuts special You’re in the Super Bowl, Charlie Brown, well, you’re not alone. It aired only in 1994, linked to that year’s Super Bowl, on NBC, which had never before and has never since aired a Peanuts special. It has never been rerun, never …

Animated Peanuts
Free Snoopy Weekend

Apple just announced that this weekend, you can watch all of their original programming for free (you will have to sign in for an account, but not a subscription.) This means The Snoopy Show, Snoopy in Space, Camp Snoopy, and the new Peanuts specials that were created for Apple should all be …

Animated Peanuts
RIP Willie Mays

Willie Mays has died. The baseball great lived until the age of 1993. “Why is that relevant to a Peanuts blog?” I hear of a few of you cry (though many of you know better.) Before Lee Mendelson had any connection to Peanuts, he made a documentary about Mays… and …