Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time is one of the most anticipated movies of 2010. Based on wildly popular Prince of Persia video game the movie tells the story of Dastan, a poor street orphan in 6th century Persia. Dastan is adopted by the king of Persia after he displays courage in a fight which the king sees. The king doesn’t want his own children fighting over his throne so he adopts Dastan to take over the throne after him since he proved to the King that he is courageous and has a good heart.  Dastan finds a friend and companion in the princess Tamina and they go on an adventure together to steal a special prize, the Sands of Time, from an evil Persian nobleman named Nizam.  The Sands of Time was given to humans by the gods and with it a human can control time, so Dastan and Tamina are determined to get it for the King. In the movie version of Prince of Persia Dastan will be played by Hollywood favorite Jake Gyllenhaal. Tamina will be played by Bond girl Gemma Arterton and the evil Nizam will be played by legendary actor Ben Kingsley.

Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time will be produced by veteran Hollywood producer Jerry Bruckheimer. Jerry first became interested in the Prince of Persia project after the first Pirates of the Caribbean movie, the Curse of the Black Pearl, turned out to be much more successful than anyone had thought it would be.  Studio execs at Disney realized that there was a huge market for period action movies and started development to bring Prince of Persia to the big screen.  The Prince of Persia video game is one of the most successful video game franchises in history and the storyline of the poor street boy Dastan raised to unbelievable wealth as the King of Persia’s adopted son is a great premise for an action movie so it seemed like a perfect fit for the studio.  The actual filming of the movie didn’t take place until 2008 though because the studio was scrambling to finish the second and third Pirates of the Caribbean movies.  Originally no sequels to the Pirates of the Caribbean movie had been planned but after the wild success of the first film Disney quickly ordered two more to cash in on audience’s love for the characters and desire to see more of them.

Because the Prince of Persia movie is based on a video game there are plenty more storylines available if Disney again decides at the last minute to create sequels to the movie based on box office success. But, currently there are no sequels being planned for the Prince of Persia . However, if audiences love The Sands of Time as much as they loved Curse of the Black Pearl Disney may once again be working overtime to produce scripts and film sequels to keep fans happy and to keep the storyline of the Prince of Persia going.

Miley Cyrus is the daughter of 80’s one hit wonder Billy Ray Cyrus whose single “Achy Breaky Heart” was one of the most well known singles of the decade and is still used as a pop culture reference today.  In 2009 Miley Cyrus was named number 29 on Time’s list of the most influential people in the world. Time magazine named her not just because as a teenager she made more than $25 million in one year but also because of the influence that she holds over teen culture and trends. She is known for setting fashion trends and influencing the fashion and purchasing choices of the millions of teen girls who watch her perform as Hannah Montana.

Miley Cyrus is most well known for playing secret pop star Hannah Montana who is a superstar singer by night wearing a blonde wig and with a smart, urban, starlet style and is a normal teenage girl by day going to school and having adventures with her friends.  The show became a smash hit, and an album of songs from the show sung by Cyrus hit number one almost instantly. Miley does perform as herself and has released her own albums under her own name that have been wildly successful, with her single Party in the USA hitting number one almost immediately upon release. Disney announced this year that the Hannah Montana show would be ending in 2011 after just four seasons, but having performed as Hannah from the beginning, mounting numerous concert tours as her alter ego and starring in a feature film as Hannah Montana Miley Cyrus is ready to take a break and start following new opportunities.

The Hannah Montana feature film mirrored Cyrus’ own life and had the famous secret star wondering if she should choose to give up her stardom and return to a normal life or embrace her star status and delve more deeply into a musical career. Interviews with Miley Cyrus revealed that the star had grappled with those issues in her own life and had a tough time finding the right balance between performing as her alter ego Hannah Montana and retaining her own identity and goals.

Miley’s parents have tried to keep her grounded in normalcy so that she doesn’t fall into the trap of drugs and alcohol like so many other teen stars do when their shows end. Born and raised near Nashville, TN  both of her parents have tried to instill in the star small town values despite her huge Hollywood success.  Her godmother, another famous Tennessee native Dolly Parton, acts as a mentor and career advisor to Miley and Miley often speaks in interviews of her close relationship with Dolly. Hopefully Mily Cyrus will be able to make the transition from teen pop sensation to serious actress and musician without some of the blunders of other pop sensations like Tiffany, Debbie Gibson, or even Britney Spears.  She has already proven that she has the talent to be a major player, only time will tell if she can build a lasting career for herself.

iCarly is one of the first kids shows to embrace modern society and reflect the everyday technology friendly lives of teens and tweens.  iCarly is a  TV show about Carly Shay, played by Miranda Cosgrove. Carly is a teen who has her own popular webcast show talking about issues that teens face and having adventures with her friends which then are broadcast online and watched by friends and classmates. Many of the adventures are related to school and include teachers and other students as well as Carly herself. Samantha Puckett, Carly’s best friend, is the co-host of iCarly and is a key player in the adventures that take place. Freddie Benson is also Carly’s best friend and he does all the technical work for the show.  Unlike most of the teens on TV shows today Carly is looked after by her 26 year old brother, Spencer, who is her legal guardian.  Also frequently appearing in the plots of iCarly webcasts is Nevel Papperman, Carly’s 11 year old nemesis who runs a website devoted to critiquing webcasts and singles Carly’s webcast out for criticism quite frequently because he has a crush on her.

iCarly first appeared on TV in 2007 and quickly became a huge hit. Kids loved the show because it accurately reflects their daily world complete with email, webchats, and webcasts of TV shows.  Parents like the show because it reflects family diversity, which there is not a lot of when it comes to kids shows.  Parents also like the show because it is a platform they can use to talk to their kids about Internet safety, how to protect themselves online, and what types of Internet communication are age appropriate.  Because so many teens and tweens use the Internet as part of their daily lives it’s very important to parents to discuss Internet safety with their kids and the iCarly shows give them an easy way to do that. Parents can also use the iCarly website as a resource for information on protecting kids online, how to talk to kids about online security and privacy, and how to set up parental controls for the computers in the home so that kids don’t end up in places where they shouldn’t be.

iCarly also has an interactive website, where there are videos from all the cast members in character, a community chat and bulletin board, and a space for kids to upload their own videos and graphics.  Since so many laptops and kids computers come equipped with digital webcams it’s easy for kids to take videos of themselves performing songs from the show, acting out the skits, or sending in their own story ideas and experiences.  Miranda Cosgrove sings the theme song for the show as well as several other songs that have been featured on the show, and fans can get her music videos and other music on the iCarly website. There are also interactive digital books and ebooks that parents can download and read with their kids, and print books too for kids who still like to read paper books.

Nick Jr, a subset of the Nickelodeon TV channel that has programming directed towards younger kids, became a force to be reckoned with in the children’s TV world when it started airing Yo Gabba Gabba in 2007. Almost immediately upon airing the show became a hit. Kids instantly loved the unique mix of programming styles that were all incorporated into the show.  The show is hosted by DJ Lance Rock who acts as an MC through the many segments of the show. Some of the segments are live action, performed with actors in costumes or puppets and human guests. Others are animated sequences featuring familiar characters to the kids watching the shows. Music and dancing are featured in each show which gives kids the chance to get active at home while watching the show and to feel like they are participating in the show. The brilliant mix of programming styles is ideal for keeping children engaged and interested through the course of the show and parents love that the content is age appropriate and fun for kids but also has inside references and jokes for parents who are watching.

Besides DJ Lance Rock the other recurring characters on Yo Gabba Gabba are a red cyclops named Muno, a pink flower named Foofa, a small green hairy monster named Brobee, a blue dragon named Toodee and a yellow magic robot named Plex. Because of the show’s fun format and unique style a lot of big name guests have appeared with DJ Lance Rock and the cast including comedian Jack Black, Lord of the Rings star Elijah Wood, R&B singer Mya, country stars Sugarland, and skateboarding legend Tony Hawk. The show, and the guests, are carefully crafted to be modern and appeal to kids today while still retaining the type of educational and functional format that made shows like Sesame Street such a vital part of children’s lives.  The show is broadcast in more than a dozen countries around the world and has won numerous children’s programming awards including awards from parent’s groups who praise Yo Gabba Gabba as what children’s programming should be.

Yo Gabba Gabba often features independent musical artists and cultural artists and appeals to modern parents who don’t have mainstream tastes.  The show has also found a captivated audience among college students who often watch it just to see the musical performances of their favorite indie rock stars.  One of the creators of the show is also a founding member of indie music group the Aquabats and has a strong commitment to showcasing a wide range of musical artists and styles on the show. Because of the cult following that Yo Gabba Gabba has among college students it’s not all uncommon to see college kids and their younger siblings dressing up as popular Yo Gabba Gabba characters for Halloween. Parents who don’t have cable TV can buy Yo Gabba Gabba DVDs for their kids so that they can still have access to this award winning programming.

Renaissance costumes are always a lot of fun for Halloween. If you want to really get the chance to live as someone else for a night dressing up in Renaissance costumes is a great way to transform yourself into a denizen of the past for an evening.  Renaissance costumes usually contain replicas of styles worn during the Renaissance period but are not usually made with historical accuracy in mind. If you want a historically accurate Renaissance costume you can create your own by doing research into costuming or you can rent a costume from a prop house or costume rental store. If you don’t want to spend a fortune on a costume you can choose from a wide range of fun and sexy Renaissance style costumes including:

The Wench – Wenches are low class women who weren’t as refined as the ladies of the court would have been. Most wench costumes consist of an off the shoulder white peasant blouse, some type of vest or girdle around the waist that is usually brightly colored, and long sweeping skirts and petticoats. The skirts are usually dark colored and the petticoats are usually white.  If you want to customize your Wench costume you can sew some ribbon or trim onto the skirt or the edge of the petticoat.  Simple shoes or clogs and a long wig, usually blonde, are the crowing touches on a fun Wench costume.

The Lady – Ladies of the Renaissance wore elaborate gowns that can be a lot of fun to dress up in.  A Lady’s dress would start with layers of petticoats or a hoop and a corset under an elaborate two piece dress. The top of the dress has a lot of lace and the center panel of the top is usually done in a contrasting color or has some type of decoration on it. The skirt should be long enough to touch the ground, since it was considered scandalous for a woman to show her ankles or any of her leg.  A tiara or head piece is commonly worn with a Renaissance dress although ladies may wish to braid their hair over the top of their heads instead.

The Knight – For men a Knight’s costume is always a fun Halloween costume that will impress the Ladies of the court.  A chain mail shirt and helmet, or a long tunic with trim worn over tight fitting pants and tall leather boots are both appropriate for a Knight’s costume.  Don’t forget to complete the costume with a sword and a cloak.

Jester – Another fun Renaissance costume for either men or women is the Court Jester. Jesters were the clowns of the their day so their costumes are usually brightly colored and have lots of decorations on them including bells on the pointy toed shoes that go with the costume and bells on the pointy hat that is a must have item for a Court Jester. Jesters were usually acrobats and so any clothing normally worn by acrobats can also be added to a Jester costume to make it easier to move and perform tricks in.

Kids movies are in high demand, and audiences can’t get enough of clever adaptations of popular books and TV shows that incorporate storylines that will please kids and adults.  Many children’s movies these days use a lot of jokes and references for parents as well as using storylines that appeal to kids. This year in addition to several movies based on popular TV shows a movie featuring the characters in the very popular Diary of a Wimpy Kid book series will be released. The movie version of the Diary of a Wimpy Kid is expected to be released early in the spring of 2010.  We expect to see many kids wanting to dress according to the movie.

The Diary of a Wimpy Kid movie is based on the bestselling children’s book of the same name. In the book the author takes readers through a year in the life of Greg Heffley, an average middle school kid, and his best friend. Greg chronicles his life through a series of diary like entries and cartoons that he draws illustrating what life is like for an average middle school boy. His best friend, Rowley Jefferson, is a big part of the story. Also involved in the day to day adventures of Greg and Rowley are their parents, teachers, and other kids from school.  During the course of the year the comics document normal kid adventures like trick or treating, not getting the presents that they want for Christmas, and dealing with the intricacies of middle school social politics. The movie is based on the first book in the series of Wimpy Kid books but incorporates characters from the other books, although that doesn’t  mean that there won’t be future Wimpy Kid movies.  If the first movie does well the studio will consider making sequels based on audience demand. In the movie experienced child actor Zachary Gordon will be Greg Heffley, and Robert Capron will play his best friend Rowley Jefferson.

Special editions of the Diary of a Wimpy Kid books are already being planned that will have illustrations, photos, and other features that tie in with the movie.  Merchandizing for the movie is already in full swing, and Halloween costumes based on the characters in the movie are predicted to be very popular for Halloween 2010.  Even though the stories that are told by Greg aren’t new and have been experienced by children throughout history Greg is able to give typical pre-adolescent problems a new and modern viewpoint by presenting them in the cartoon format.  Kids everywhere embraced the book because they could relate to the character of Greg and to the stories about his life that mirror the things they experience everyday like watching your best friend drift away and start to have other friends or getting something you wrote or drew in the school newspaper.  Parents and kids will enjoy watching the Diary of a Wimpy Kid together and can go on to read more of the Diary  of a Wimpy Kid books together as well.

Even though the second Chronicles of Narnia film, Prince Caspian,  didn’t perform as well as movie executives had hoped the anticipation is high for the new Chronicles of Narnia film Voyage of the Dawn Treader.  The third film in the Chronicles of Narnia series will be the first one not distributed under the Disney banner.  It also is sure to influence costumes for Halloween. Disney backed out of the Chronicles of Narnia series after the disappointing returns brought in by Prince Caspian.  But, industry experts predict that Disney will end up regretting that move because the buzz for Voyage of the Dawn Treader is already in full swing and audiences are excited to the film adaption of the most popular book in the Chronicles of Narnia series.

In Voyage of the Dawn Treader pint sized heroes Edmund and Lucie Pevensie are back, but are shipped off to stay with cousin Eustace Scrubb for the summer. The children are sucked back into Narnia through a maritime painting and end up on the Dawn Treader with old pal Caspian, who is now King Caspian. They join King Caspian for a journey through uncharted Narnian waters on the Dawn Treader and find themselves in many different adventures battling sea beasts, meeting with magical water folk, and once again fighting to save Narnia from changing into an unrecognizable and inhospitable place. Skandar Keynes and George Henley return to play Edmund and Lucie, and Ben Barnes is also back as King Caspian. Liam Neeson returns to voice Aslan, and comedian Eddie Izzard is still the voice of Reepiecheep.

The filming of the movie was put on hold briefly because much of the movie was scheduled to be shot in Mexico using the same sets that epic water movies Titanic and Master and Commander had used but due to ongoing instability in Mexico the movie studio was worried about the safety of the cast and crew, especially the young stars. Eventually an alternative shooting location in Australia was procured and filming was resumed, although the release date of the movie was pushed back several months as a result of the delay.  Other delays resulting from script rewrites and the uncertainty of the film when Disney pulled out have cost the production quite a bit of time but the movie is on schedule now to be released in December of 2010, just in time for Christmas. The movie will premier in Australia a day before it premiers in the US.

Even though Disney executives didn’t have a lot of faith in the Voyage of the Dawn Treader many parents and children are already looking forward to the film. Since many people have limited budgets for entertainments like movies this year thanks to the current economic situation parents are going to be choosing movies very carefully, and it will take movies like Voyage of the Dawn Treader that have a special emotional appeal to get parents to want to spend money on a night out at the movies for the family. Since millions of parents read and loved the Chronicles of Narnia series when they were younger they will make it a priority to share Voyage of the Dawn Treader with their own children.

Alice is back to fight the evil Umbrella Corporation in the fourth Resident Evil film. Even though the creators of the Resident Evil film series based on the video game said that the third film, Extinction, was going to be the last film a new Resident Evil film, Afterlife, is in the works and will be hitting theaters in fall of 2010. The fourth film will pick up exactly where Extinction ended, and it will be the first film of a new Resident Evil trilogy. Mill Jojovich will be returning as Alice, and other cast members from previous films who will be appearing in Afterlife include Ali Larter as Claire Redfield and Spencer Locke as K-Mart. Introduced in this film will be Claire’s brother Chris Redfield played by Wentworth  Miller and the villain of this particular movie, Albert Wesker played by Shawn Roberts. Wesker is the chairman of the Umbrella Corporation and uses holographs to meet with his connections all over the world from his office in Tokyo. In the Resident Evil video games he is an ongoing villain that is  part of many storylines within the game.

Afterlife is the first Resident Evil movie to be made in 3D. Some fans have speculated that one of the reasons why the filmmakers are reviving the series is so that they can make a new trilogy of Resident Evil film in 3D technology that wasn’t available before. Using 3D film technology will allow the director to bring the film even closer to the look of the video game and will also bring a new twist to this highly lucrative film series.  As 3D films become more and more common audiences can expect film studios to start creating new adaptations of many classic action and science fiction films in an effort to update their classic film libraries.

Much of Resident Evil Afterlife will take place in Los Angeles, the latest city where Alice finds other survivors.  When she arrives in a crumbling LA she stumbles upon a prison guarded by zombies that is full of other human survivors, including Claire Redfield’s brother Chris. After rescuing the prisoners Alice gathers her friends and continues trying to bring down Wesker and the Umbrella Corporation in order to free the world. Because all of the original cast are returning, and director/writer Paul Anderson is back behind the camera Afterlife should have the continuity that many sequels lack.  Audiences should be immediately plunged back into the Resident Evil post-apocalyptic world that has grown so familiar through the course of the three previous movies and this time they’ll be plunged into that world in 3D.

Already game and comic conventions are buzzing with excitement for Afterlife and fans are anxiously waiting to see trailers, stills and other pieces of the film before the final product is released in fall of 2010. It may not be on many critics top 10 lists but Resident Evil Afterlife is sure to be on thousands of fans must see lists this year.

We expect Resident Evil: Afterlife to inspire Halloween costumes this coming year.

The toys are back in town in Pixar’s long awaited third installment of the Toy Story series.  The Toy Story movies were among the first animated movies to cross over into mainstream popularity and establish the animated film genre as one that could appeal to adults as much as it could appeal to kids. A long string of Pixar hits followed the original Toy Story movie and the second Toy Story movie, but Pixar is returning to their roots to finish out the Toy Story with the third movie.

Toy Story 3 was originally planned to be made and released well before 2010 but contentious relationships between Disney and Pixar delayed the development of the movie. When Disney and Pixar split an entirely different version of the film was planned in which Buzz was broken and was shipped by the toys to Taiwan to be fixed. Once the toys realized that Buzz wouldn’t get fixed and wouldn’t be returned to them they set out to rescue him. That story was scrapped by Disney when Disney bought Pixar in 2006 and a new version of the story was created and set into motion.

Now little Andy, the boy who owns all the toys that have appeared in the Toy Story movies, is all grown up and is leaving for college. As the toys are packed up to be put into the attic they accidentally get put into the trash. Instead of ending up at the dump they are taken out and given to a day care center. The toys rally to save one another from the well meaning but very rough day care children who seem like they are on a mission to hurt or main the toys as much as possible. Toy hero Woody and companion Buzz Lightyear round up the toys to organize an escape attempt, but during one of the attempt Buzz is damaged. To the other toys surprise Buzz’s injuries cause him to reset to his original factory settings, but in Spanish. The Spanish speaking Buzz Lightyear still thinks that he is a real space ranger and that he has special powers. Now the toys must return Buzz to his right state of mind and manage to get themselves out of the daycare center and back to Andy’s house before they all are damaged beyond repair.

All of the beloved toys, and their original actors, will be returning for Toy Story 3.  Tim Allen will be back as the voice of the bombastic Buzz Lightyear, and Tom Hanks will once again voice cowboy hero Woody.  Joan Cusack will once again voice Jessie, Woody’s cowgirl companion who was rescued and joined the group in Toy Story 2. Also returning are John Ratzenberger as Hamm the pig, Don Rickles and Estelle Harris as Mr. and Mrs. Potato Head, Wallace Shawn as Rex, and Laurie Metcalf as Andy’s Mom. Bo Peep, RC, Lenny, and Wheezy will also be returning.  Audiences everywhere loved the charm, humor and storylines of the first two Toy Story movies and are anxiously awaiting the release of Toy Story 3.

The fascination with vampires as sympathetic creatures in popular culture really began with Bela Lugosi’s portrayal of Dracula in the 1931 film.  For the first time the film created an image of a vampire that was sexy, sympathetic, romantic, and desirable. Previously vampires were reviled and feared as ghoulish creatures that killed indiscriminately and were dangerous.  Once the face of the vampire changed to become something attractive the danger associated with vampires seemed intriguing, and drew people towards the image instead of repelling them.  Through movies and books vampires became came figures that millions of people could relate to because of their outsider status in society and their loneliness.

Anne Rice’s Vampire Chronicle series cemented the sexy, sympathetic image of a vampire. The vampires in Rice’s books were attractive, wealthy, ruthless killers who nonetheless clung to humanity. They had human emotions and were very dark, seductive, and enticing. Ann Rice’s books, and the film adaptations of her books Interview with the Vampire and The Queen of the Damned made vampires romantic figures that were attractive both because of their power and because of their pain.  Around the turn of the last century the vampire mythos changed again as vampires went mainstream in movies like Underworld.  Vampires were portrayed as strong, savvy, killers who were not to be messed with but had a distinctly seductive edge to them.  When Stephanie Myers Twilight books came out, and the movies based on the books were released, the image of vampires in popular culture became softer, and the view of vampires once again became a sympathetic one.

The lead vampire in Twilight, Edward Cullen, is non threatening to Bella, and is not sexual with her which is a distinct change in the vampire characterization that has always existed in pop culture. Vampires have always been closely tied to sexuality in pop culture. The other massive pop culture phenomenon that features Vampires, True Blood, turned the vampire mythos on its ear by creating a world in which vampires live and interact with humans in the open, instead of having to hide in the shadows. Vampires in True Blood rarely feed on humans, instead they feed with a synthetic blood substitute. Taking away the most central role of a vampire as a predator who needs to feed on human blood has renewed public fascination with vampires because they are no longer as threatening.  Even people who never cared for vampire stories before became avid fans of True Blood because of the unique interactions between humans and vampires portrayed in the show.

At the core of the vampire mystique is a glorification of the darker side of human nature. The desires for sex, power, and the ability to live forever outside of society and not being bound to society’s rules are desires that most people keep hidden and only express through things like dressing up for Halloween or at other times during the year.  Vampires are much like humans, only they are not ashamed of their darker drives and live as they please. That is why vampires are always appealing to humans.