Walt Disney Co

IT was the perfect cast for an uplifting reality TV show: five orphaned siblings and the loving family friends who took them in. The story line certainly appealed to the producers of ABC's "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition." After learning that Phil and Loki Leomiti had opened their doors to the Higgins clan -- their former neighbors and fellow church members -- the show's executives proposed transforming the couple's modest Santa Fe Springs house into a nine-bedroom showpiece.

First, the news: The Angels and the city of Anaheim have opened negotiations on a deal that would keep the team in town - and in a newly renovated stadium - into the next decade and beyond. That the two sides have made it to the bargaining table is a tribute to the burial of an expensive hatchet. When Angels owner Arte Moreno slapped a Los Angeles label on the team eight years ago, the city of Anaheim sued. Moreno won, but not before he spent $8 million to defend himself against a city he said was "trying to run me out of town.

Fiscal 1992 was a banner year for Walt Disney Co. CEO Michael D. Eisner helped it increase profit by 28.2% from a year ago and revenue by 23%. A new digitally restored version of "Snow White" was released last Friday--the first time the cutting-edge high-resolution technology has been applied to a feature-length film. Also last week, an environmental impact report for the Westcot expansion in Anaheim received unanimous approval from the City Council.

Paramount Pictures will be getting a payday for "Iron Man 3" -- a film released by its crosstown rival Disney. The Walt Disney Co.'s Robert Downey Jr. action sequel has already sold $794 million of tickets worldwide -- a massive success for the Burbank company. But Paramount, which had no involvement in the making of the Marvel Studios-produced superhero movie, could wind up receiving more than $100 million from the box office pie.  PHOTOS: 'Iron Man 3' premiere The financial deal stems from an October 2010 agreement between Disney and Paramount, which had previously distributed Marvel movies, including the first two "Iron Man" pictures.

An Antelope Valley woman who was a performer on television's original "Mickey Mouse Club" has sued the Walt Disney Co., alleging that she and her family were robbed in the Disneyland parking lot and then held for hours against their will as park security officers questioned them.

Editor's note: Due to an error in production, a portion of this story was missing in Friday's Times Orange County Edition. It is reprinted here in its entirety. Boosted by Bambi, four shrunken children and a crush of amusement park visitors, Walt Disney Co. on Thursday reported record revenue and net income for the three months and the fiscal year ended Sept. 30. Disney Chairman and Chief Executive Michael D. Eisner and President Frank G.

In the lore of Disneyland, it is said that Walt Disney signed up corporate sponsors for many of the original rides in the park because he was too strapped for cash to build many of them alone. Hence, the rocket ship in Tomorrowland was at one time emblazoned with the names of sponsors Douglas Aircraft and TWA and the monorail carried the monogram of the Santa Fe Railroad. Those names are long since gone. Lately, however, the cash-rich but deal-happy Walt Disney Co.

Premiere magazine Editor in Chief Susan Lyne has been hired as a top executive at Walt Disney Co.'s Motion Pictures Group, where she will acquire and develop material for films. Lyne, who will be based in New York, plans to buy books, screenplays and stage plays for Disney. Her formal title in the newly created job will be executive vice president in charge of acquisition and development of intellectual material and new opportunities.

Walt Disney Co. has scuttled plans to build a $611-million theme park and shopping mall in downtown Burbank, saying estimated revenue would not support the project. The abrupt withdrawal, announced Friday by disappointed Burbank officials, brought an un-Disneylike tone to the city's 15-year effort to develop a 40-acre site as the centerpiece of redevelopment in the troubled downtown area. It also was seen as a victory of sorts for entertainment rival MCA Inc.

Walt Disney Co. said Tuesday that its profit rose 3% in the October-December quarter, led by a 15% growth in the company's film business that was driven by the box-office smash "Toy Story." The entertainment company earned $496 million, or 93 cents per share, in its fiscal first quarter, beating by a penny a share the average estimate of 10 analysts surveyed by Zacks Investment Research. Disney earned $483 million, or 91 cents a share, in the same period a year ago. For the quarter ended Dec.

If the dead could speak, they probably wouldn't have been heard over the burst of virtual shouting and howling Walt Disney Co. drew for attempting to trademark "Dia de los Muertos" -- a bid it has since dropped. The company filed 10 applications with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office for “Dia de los Muertos,” including applications pertaining to toys, cereals and jewelry. The May 1 filings came in anticipation of an untitled movie about the Mexican holiday, known in English as Day of the Dead.

After the coffee. Before the flight to a rainy New York City. The Skinny: By the time most of you read this I'll be in the air on my way to the Big Apple for the broadcast upfronts and real pizza. I'm listening to "The Boxer" as I write this just to get in the mood. Of course, the New York that Simon & Garfunkel sang about is now a distant memory. Enough deep thoughts from me. Today's stories include Walt Disney Co.'s strong earnings and Legendary Entertainment perhaps jumping ship .  If you are interested in receiving an email alert when the Morning Fix is live please send me a note . Daily Dose: Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.)

The Walt Disney Co. and Electronic Arts Inc. have inked a licensing deal that will see the video game developer make and publish new "Star Wars" games, the companies said Monday afternoon. Under the exclusive, multi-year agreement, Electronic Arts will develop titles for "all interactive platforms and the most popular game genres" related to "Star Wars. " Disney retains certain rights to develop games for mobile, social, tablet and online platforms, the companies said.  The announcement comes a little more than a month after Disney's Lucasfilm Ltd. subsidiary, which is responsible for the "Star Wars" franchise, said it would no longer make video games.

Lily James, who plays  Lady Rose MacClare in "Downton Abbey," will take the lead role once rumored for Emma Watson in "Cinderella," the Walt Disney Co., announced Tuesday. The 24-year-old English actress, whose film credits include "Wrath of the Titans" and "Broken," is taking over the part from the "Harry Potter" veteran Watson, who was penciled in to star but left the project earlier this year. Other actresses rumored to be in contention for the starrring part included S aoirse Ronan ("Atonement")

Time Warner Cable subscribers can now take a lot of their television lineup with them on the road. The cable company, which has more than 2 million subscribers in Southern California, is now offering its customers the ability to access content from popular cable channels such as MTV, Comedy Central and Nickelodeon via Apple's tablet devices and mobile phones. The agreement is unique because it will allow Time Warner Cable subscribers to view content even if they are not in an area serviced by the cable company.

After the coffee. Before getting my taxes done. The Skinny: Is it football season yet? Oh, well. Thursday's headlines include layoffs at Walt Disney Co., China yanks "Django Unchained" and Fox tries a new way to keep viewers watching during commercials. Daily Dose: When does synergy cross the line into shameless self-promotion? Watchers of "NBC Nightly News" get to think about that all the time. The most recent example was this week when, during a story about North Korea's stepped-up nuclear activity, a scene from the "Weekend Update" segment of "Saturday Night Live" was used to illustrate a point.

Lobbying efforts for a transportation hub near Disneyland to serve rail, bus, car-pool and other mass transit have been launched in Washington by a coalition of local and state public agencies and the Walt Disney Co. led by Gov. Pete Wilson's office.

Newspaper Reports Meetings on Euro Disney: The Sunday Times of London said executives of Euro Disney and Burbank-based Walt Disney Co. met over the weekend to discuss options for the troubled French theme park's future. The paper says the discussion topics included an injection of new funding, a rights issue or even, potentially, closing the park. Since opening in April, 1992, Euro Disney, 49% owned by Walt Disney Co.

Walt Disney Co. has confirmed that it is laying off staff at its movie studio, which several media outlets reported last week. The Los Angeles Times reported  April 5 that the cuts were expected to affect the studio's marketing and home entertainment divisions and possibly other areas.  “As part of an ongoing review to ensure that the studios' operational structure and economics align with the demands of the current marketplace, we...

Walt Disney Co. has begun the process of laying off about 150 people who work at the company's movie studio. Analysts said that the layoffs, which were confirmed by the Burbank-based company Wednesday, are probably related to redundancies created by Disney's recent acquisitions of Marvel Entertainment in 2009 and Lucasfilm in 2012. “I am sure there is some overlap from those acquisitions,” said Disney analyst Harold Vogel, president of Vogel Capital Management. PHOTOS: Hollywood Backlot moments The cuts, which are expected to affect the studio's marketing and home entertainment divisions and possibly other areas, are believed to be the result of an internal corporate review initiated by Disney Chief Executive Bob Iger.