October 2, 2002 - Tim Allen makes a big return to the big screens in next month's release of The Santa Clause 2! Check out Disney's official site, which is now active. The film has been rated G.
In other news, rumor has it that Disney's Buena Vista Home Video may be releasing Home Improvement episodes to DVD next year! It's unclear what form the DVD releases will take, but the studio's first wave of TV content on the DVD format debuts November, with full season sets of Felicity, Sports Night, and Once and Again. Nothing is confirmed at this point, but naturally you can rely on The Home Improvement Zone to bring you the full details first. In other DVD news, two Tim Allen films make their DVD debut next week, 1997's Jungle 2 Jungle, and his most recently-released film, Big Trouble. Use the links below if you'd like to pre-order with a discount from Amazon.
July 1, 2002 - With the theatrical release exactly four months away, Disney has launched the official website for Tim Allen's The Santa Clause 2. Not much is up on the site just yet, but there is a teaser trailer, for the sequel to the 1994 family comedy hit. Click here to visit the Disney's official Santa Clause 2 site.
May 9, 2002 - Well, Big Trouble was a big flop at the box offices, Tim's second in a row. But fortunately, not only does this fall bring the highly-anticipated sequel to The Santa Clause, but also 2 new DVDs for Tim Allen movies. On October 8, Jungle 2 Jungle makes its American DVD debut. Then, just three weeks later, there is a brand new Special Edition DVD re-release of the original Santa Clause, with deleted scenes, games, and more. Two definite purchases for Tim Allen fans!
April 5, 2002 - Greetings, all! I apologize for the month without update! There is some news to report! Tim Allen's latest movie opened today to mixed reviews. Big Trouble is an ensemble comedy from director Barry Sonnenfeld (Men in Black) and humor columnist/author Dave Barry. The movie has some laughs, but as an overall film, it's pretty much a disappointment (though much better than Sonnenfeld's last project though, Wild Wild West). You may remember the film being advertised for release last September, but it was pushed due to the terrible terrorist acts. As a result, the movie now opens with little publicity and at a time when it is likely to get overlooked. Box office predictions are mild. Vote on what you thought of Big Trouble in the new poll below. I have also finally updated the Tim Allen biography and credits page to reflect the status of all of his current and upcoming projects.
Speaking of Tim, he's established an official website now which he actually takes a look out (supposedly) from time-to-time. One of the cool features there is a video greeting from the Toolman himself, from the set of The Santa Clause 2. Check it out here. You'll need QuickTime. To check out Tim's site, click here. The Santa Clause 2 is currenty filming and is scheduled to hit theaters this November. Who is Cletis Tout?, Tim's independent comedy/noir film is scheduled to finally hit theaters this July 12, but in limited release only. Meanwhile, Joe Somebody hits DVD this August and word has it that Tim's 1997 comedy Jungle 2 Jungle will finally make its DVD debut this October. Let's hope Disney does it right, widescreen and extras. With regards to the other HI cast members, Jonathan Taylor Thomas' indie drama Speedway Junkie is finally coming out...but not in theaters, it's premiering on DVD on June 11. (Warning: Man of the House, this is NOT!) Richard Karn (Al) stars in Disney's upcoming direct-to-video and DVD release, Air Bud: Seventh Inning Fetch, the fourth movie about the athletic pup. Karn hasn't been doing too much post-HI, outside of a guest appearance on "That 70's Show" last fall. Speaking of TV guest appearances, Earl Hindman (Wilson) appeared in a January episode of "Law & Order: Criminal Intent", one of the endless L & O shows occupying primetime and syndication timeslots. The rest of the cast has been rather quiet, with Zachery Ty Bryan (Brad) doing a Canadian TV movie and Taran Smith appearing in the upcoming film, Speedball: The Movie being the only other noteworthy cast projects.
January 23, 2002 - Happy new year to all! Tim's latest movie Joe Somebody which fared quite poorly at the box office, will be coming to DVD in the summer. His next film, The Santa Clause 2 is likely to do much better business in theaters when it is released this November.
November 27, 2001 - I hope everyone had a happy Thanksgiving! According to Entertainment Weekly, Tim has dropped out of Universal and Imagine's production of The Cat in the Hat. He cited that one icon role was enough for him, referring to his role as Scott Calvin/Santa Claus in the upcoming sequel to The Santa Clause. However, good news, is that Tim's latest movie, Joe Somebody opens next month on December 21. Although I can't blame you if you didn't know that already, since FOX hasn't trumpeted the film at all. They just recently put up the official film site, joesomebodythemovie.com. The movie is rated PG.
November 16, 2001 - 20th Century Fox has posted the trailer for Tim Allen's newest film, the comedy Joe Somebody, which opens December 21 in theaters. You can check out the trailer at Apple's site. QuickTime 5 required. Also, since this will most likely be the last update before holiday, I'd like to wish everyone a wonderful and happy Thanksgiving. Don't eat too much! What am I saying...eat a lot! That's one of the best things about Thanksgiving - the food! Best wishes to you and your family.
November 5, 2001 - Good news! Tim Allen recently stated that production on The Santa Clause 2: Escape Clause is set to begin production in either January or February of next year! Allen cited reasons that they'll need a lot of snow for production, which makes it sounds like the sequel will have a good portion of it set in the North Pole, where Calvin has taken on the job as Kris Kringle. Since the script is finished and production is to start early next year, the movie could make a holiday 2002 theatrical release. As for Tim's other projects, The Cat in the Hat has been placed on the back burner, so it's unlikely we'll see the film in theaters next year. Joe Somebody is still set for a theatrical release next month (we'll see if it makes it), and Big Trouble will hopefully be well-received when it is released in the Spring of 2002. Public Enemy has not started production yet and nothing new to report on StarChild, Who is Cletis Tout?, or the (nonexistent?)Smile. Also, Pixar Animation Studios (the creator of the two Toy Story movies and the newly released Monsters, Inc.) have made plans for the seventh collaboration with Disney--Route 66 about cars of the talking kind. This could possibly be the last Pixar film in which they work with Disney on, since this meets the 7-film requirement in their current contract. If so, then a Toy Story 3 may not be happening. And if enough time passes, maybe a Toy Story 3 would be a bad idea (see the disaster known as The Godfather Part III released nearly 20 years after the two classic films). Speaking of Monsters, Inc. - it's a wonderful film that you should see!
September 22, 2001 - As you may have heard, Big Trouble has been pushed back to a Spring 2002 theatrical release. The move from Touchstone came just days after terrorist attacks on our nation. Apparently, they felt people wouldn't find jokes about bombs on planes and terrorist plans very funny at this time, and I can see why. No official date has been announced yet. As for the rest of the year, Pixar's follow-up to Toy Story 2, Monsters, Inc. will be released on November 2 as planned. Tim's comedy Joe Somebody also remains on the schedule for a December 19 release from Fox.
June 9, 2001 - The official site for Tim's Big Trouble is now up and running. You can download the trailer, view interviews with the characters and author Dave Barry, and read production notes. More is to come, but you can check it out now: Big Trouble. Also, for all you Pixar fans (and really, who isn't), the fourth feature film from the guys who brought you Toy Story and A Bug's Life is Monsters Inc., to be released November 2. There is an all-new full trailer for the film that you can view at the Monsters Inc. official site.
April 13, 2001 - As I predicted, Big Trouble has received a PG-13 rating. The MPAA's official reasons are "Rated PG-13 for language, crude humor and sex-related, material ". Tim Allen's crime comedy caper is still set for a September 21 theatrical release. Happy Easter everybody!
March 22, 2001 - Touchstone will release Tim Allen's Big Trouble this fall on Friday, September 21, 2001. Officially, it is the first day of fall (although typically the fall film season is thought of beginning at the start of September). In any event, the ensemble comedy will hit theaters in about six months, and then will likely come to video and DVD in February 2002.
March 9, 2001 - With the Academy Awards approaching, I've added a section below with links to pre-order or buy the biggest films of the past year on DVD. Those films nominated for Oscars are listed below.
In other news, Tim Allen's Big Trouble has been pushed back by Touchstone from the summer schedule and is now looking at a probable Fall release. Meanwhile, we know that production on Tim's two major motion pictures (The Santa Clause 2: Escape Clause and The Cat in the Hat) are set to begin after the summer SAG strike. But also on the plate for the Toolman is Joe Somebody, a comedy to be directed by John Pasquin (who has teamed up with Tim on The Santa Clause, Jungle 2 Jungle, and season 1 episodes of "Home Improvement"). The movie is about a middle-aged man named Joe (played by Allen) who decides he must do something about his listless life, a decision he makes after being embarrassed on "Bring Your Daughter to Work" Day. The film will co-star Julie Bowen (Happy Gilmore) as Joe's young co-worker and Jim Belushi. The concept sounds promising, although the cast does not sound particularly. The film is also set to begin production after the strike later this year and will be distributed by Fox 2000 and New Regency for a likely 2002 release. The film is supposed to resemble an American Beauty-type mid-life crisis but with more comedy than drama. Well, Pasquin and Allen have certainly worked magic in the past. Perhaps, they'll continue their success on this project.
And yet another project is lined up for Tim. This one, from his own Boxing Cat Productions company (through Disney) and Mel Gibson's Icon Productions (Paramount). Both Allen and Gibson are set to star in the sci-fi/comedy StarChild. The movie, which resembles the Galaxy Quest genre, follows a misfit CIA agent who must help a friendly alien get home away from intergalactic mayhem. So overall, Tim has the following projects lined up in various stages:
Big Trouble - Touchstone ensemble comedy to be released on September 21
February 11, 2001 - Just a brief update today. Firstly, check out the new poll below. The next Tim Allen film to come to theaters will definitely be Big Trouble. The Disney ensemble comedy will be released this September under the Touchstone Pictures label. Well as a first look at the movie, here are two stills featuring Tim. On the left, (L to R) are Ben Foster, Tim Allen, Rene Russo, and Zooey Deschanel. The picture on the right just features Tim and Russo. Click on the thumbnails to see full-sized images.
Plus I've also created an information page on the movie. Click here to visit my page on Big Trouble.
January 13, 2001 - First off, I'd like to announce the opening of a brand new section to the ever-growing Home Improvement Zone: The Ultimate Guide to Disney DVD. This group of pages offers information on the release status of every single Disney title on DVD. This includes the 40 animated classics, other animated films, direct-to-video works, live action movies, and television movies. Now you'll notice an asterisk above because well I'm sure that some of the several hundred titles Disney has in their catalogue slipped by me and are missing from the pages. Please if you come across any Disney titles I forgot to list, let me know. This section of the site contains extensive information on when to expect a DVD release, what is on a current DVD release, related links of information, and more. Plus, every Disney DVD that is currently available contains a link to buy or pre-order. Hopefully, Disney fans (many of whom are Home Improvement fans) will enjoy the work that went into making The Ultimate Guide to Disney DVD. It's a work in progress as of today, so some links might be incorrect or broken. I'll have it all finished as soon as possible.
The second bit of news is that like The Santa Clause 2, it appears Tim Allen's The Cat in the Hat is also being held off until after the oncoming SAG strike. Fear not, though, as Tim has a few projects lined up, and one is to be filmed pre-strike. Don't forget that Tim will also be appearing in Disney's Big Trouble and the indie drama Cletis Tout, which have both finished production and are scheduled for 2001 theatrical release.
January 6, 2001 - Some kind of big news today. Tim Allen has asked for a rewrite of the script for The Santa Clause 2: Escape Clause, so that compounded with the upcoming Screen Actors Guild strike means that the sequel to Tim's 1994 holiday hit will most likely not start filming until later this year, so expect its theatrical release to be pushed back a year to November 2002. In some ways, this is bad since we'll have to wait another year to see the movie. But I guess it's good that Tim wants this film done the right way, and I am not all that surprised that he might have been disappointed by the first script (keeping in mind the way Disney can bang out the scripts for some of their animated and othersequels, with the exception of Toy Story 2). So now that SC2 has been pushed back, what will Tim be working on now? Jungle 2 Jungle 2 Jungle? Galaxy Quest: The Adventure Continues? A big screen movie of Home Improvement? Actually, none of those things. Instead the project that Tim has been excited about for a long time now, Dr. Seuss' Cat in the Hat has been put on the fast track with anticipation of a holiday 2001 release planned. Though there's still no director or screenwriter announced for the project, Universal (who took the film over from DreamWorks) will try to remain faithful to the 220-word book, with what Tim wants to have some "horrifying" elements. Upcomingmovies.com has some additional info on Tim's Seuss project here. You can read more about Tim's ideas for the movie at Film Unlimited.
January 5, 2001 - I forgot to mention this the other day, but I also added some sound clips from Galaxy Quest to the Sounds page.
January 2, 2001 - Happy New Year to All! Here's what the year 2001 holds for the "Home Improvement" cast...Tim Allen will be appearing in Big Trouble (Summer), Cletis Tout, and (if it gets done in time) Dr. Seuss' The Cat in the Hat. Later this year (after the SAG strike), Tim will begin filming The Santa Clause 2: Escape Clause, which has been pushed back from its original November release date to most likely November 2002, following Tim's request for a rewrite of the script . Patricia Richardson has a signficant role in a miniseries called "Blonde" co-starring Kirstie Alley and airing in April. Plus, look for more of the Home Improvement cast's movies to come to DVD. Look for Zachery Ty Bryan to make more television appearances like his guest role on "Boston Public". Also look for a Jonathan Taylor Thomas vehicle to premiere on FOX. Still MIA will be Earl Hindman (who outside of a guest-starring on "Law & Order" has done nothing since HI ended), Taran Smith, Richard Karn, and Debbe Dunning. They'll all probably have little projects throughout the year as well. I've gone ahead and updated all the individual cast pages which can be reached by the link at the top of this page. Hopefully, Disney will release some of the cast's movies (Jungle 2 Jungle, Man of the House, etc.) to the DVD format, and we can all dream of a DVD release for "Home Improvement" episodes. Who knows, with the way that the format is growing? Hope that Tool Thousand One is a good year for all of you! On a more immediate note, the Bravo Network is airing Bravo Profiles on Tim Allen and his TV/movie career this Wednesday, January 3, 2001.
December 22, 2000 - I'd like to wish everyone a very merry Christmas! Just a brief note: the sequel to Tim Allen's 1994 box-office hit The Santa Clause will be called The Santa Clause 2: Escape Clause. The Christmas-themed movie is planned for a November theatrical release by Disney and Tim's Boxing Cat Productions company. A teaser trailer for the film is running in front of Disney's recently-released comedy Emperor's New Groove. Hope the sequel is as good as the original. Everyone have an enjoyable holiday weekend, hopefully we'll get even more snow! :)
November 12, 2000 - After just two weeks, the Toy Story & Toy Story 2 DVD 2-Pack is already the fourth best-selling DVD release of the year! Make sure you order a copy of the 2-disc or 3-disc set in time for the holidays! In other news, Tim Allen was at the premiere of the Ron Howard/Jim Carrey holiday family film The Grinch. Tim talked about his own Dr. Seuss project, the upcoming Cat in the Hat film also being done by Universal. You can watch the video clip at Universal's offical Grinch site. Thanks to LL for the information.
November 2, 2000 - Hope everyone had a fun and safe Halloween. I have completely updated the most comprehensive page on Toy Story 2. In case you haven't seen it yet, you should check it out...Everything You Wanted to Know about Toy Story 2. Also check out the new poll below. October 17, 2000 - The video and DVD event of the year...it's here! Toy Story 2 on VHS and DVD plus the original Toy Story on DVD for the first time! The Ultimate Toy Box is one incredible DVD set and is a great gift idea for the upcoming holidays! Read some of the rave reviews for the 3-disc set: DVDFile, The Digital Bits, Reel.com, MousePlanet, DVD Town, DVD Review, DVD Movie Guide, and DVD Angle.
September 16, 2000 - The Home Improvement Zone store has been entirely updated. It's now a whole lot easier to navigate through and won't take so long to load for those of you with dialup connections. PLUS, there are now non-HI related recommendations, which are surefire gift ideas. Click here to visit the newly-designed HI Zone store. September 8, 2000 - For all of you who have been dying to listen to the song from the "Home Improvement" series finale, Kenny Rogers' "We've Got It All", Duncan Taylor has created an MP3 file of the song. You can download it from the "Klaus, Music Please" section of his incredible website The Home Improvement Archive.
August 18, 2000 - There are quite a few items to update you on today. First of all, I've had a chance to view Tim Allen's direct-to-video release Buzz Lightyear of Star Command: The Adventure Begins on DVD. Apparently, I'm not the only one, as Yahoo has a story about the successful sales of the Disney/Pixar animated feature. Secondly, the long-discussed Cat in the Hat film project starring Tim Allen is beginning to materialize. That's because, Universal Pictures and Imagine Entertainment (Ron Howard's production company responsible for Apollo 13 and EdTV among others) have taken over the Dr. Seuss project from DreamWorks. Details are sketchy thus far, but Universal plans to remain faithful to the classic Dr. Seuss book. Seems kind of strange (and difficult) to make a full-length film out of such a short book. Nevertheless, Tim Allen is expected to play the Cat in the Hat in a live-action film, similar to the upcoming Jim Carrey vehicle The Grinch due in theaters this November. I've updated Tim's biography page accordingly with this title as well as additional info on other upcoming projects. In addition, Jonathan Taylor Thomas' independent film Speedway Junkie is playing at select theaters around the country right now. Lastly, be sure to vote in the new poll below. Also look for an update of the Home Improvement Zone Store soon.
August 11, 2000 - Tim Allen's brand new home video release Buzz Lightyear of Star Command is now available. The full-length adventure features Buzz, the star of Toy Story, in an intergalactic battle with the evil Emperor Zurg. Don't forget to check out Disney's official Buzz Lightyear of Star Command website to join the Star Command Club, download William Shatner's "To Infinity and Beyond" and learn more about this direct-to-video release.
July 24, 2000 - Great update today. Tim Allen is set to star in a sequel to his 1994 box office hit comedy The Santa Clause. The movie will be released in November 2001 by Disney and Tim's Boxing Cat Productions. Thanks to Lina, for providing me with this and so many other great news updates. More info to come, sounds great. Also, time is running out to pre-order the Buzz Lightyear movie. It will be released in two weeks.
July 20, 2000 - The two different Toy Story DVD box sets are two of the most anticipated DVD releases of the year. They also figure to be among the top-selling items, judging from Amazon's Hot 100 DVD List. You can see a picture of the cover and disc artwork, plus complete information on the DVDs here.
June 19, 2000 - Well I have some great news for you today. The official announcement has come in from Disney...Toy Story and Toy Story 2 are coming to DVD on October 17! There will be two different box sets. For more information on the DVDs, including complete special features listing, click here.
June 9, 2000 - Good news! Tim Allen won the Best Actor award at the Saturn Awards for his performance in Galaxy Quest. The annual awards are given by the Academy of Horror, Science Fiction, and Fantasy Films. It was the only award either Galaxy Quest or Toy Story 2 won, but one a good one. Allen beat out The Matrix's Keanu Reeves for the acting nod. More info on the Toy Story 2 discs' features when it comes in...should make a great Christmas gift, judging from the Bug's Life Collector's Edition DVD from last year. For more coverage of the Saturn Awards, click here. Lastly, scroll down to vote in a new Tim Allen-themed quick poll.
June 6, 2000 - Updated the Home Improvement Cast Movies on DVD page today.
June 4, 2000 - This just in: Toy Story 2 will be released on home video on October 17! You can save 33% if you pre-order this movie on VHS now. As of now, only the VHS is scheduled for this date, but there will be 2 DVD releases as well. More info will be made available when an official announcement is released by Disney/Pixar, most likely later this month.
May 29, 2000 - Great news, everyone! Happy Memorial Day. It appears certain now that Tim Allen will be voicing Buzz Lightyear in the movie Buzz Lightyear of Star Command: The Adventure Begins which comes to video and Disney DVD August 8th. You can pre-order the movie through the links above. Disney has also opened up the official movie site, which features a teaser trailer and some information on the movie. So, it appears that despite previous word, the Toolman himself will actually be Buzz in the direct-to-video release of the first three episodes of the upcoming TV show. In other Tim news, rumor has it that Tim is considering for future film projects a sequel to Galaxy Quest and a movie version of our very own "Home Improvement". Note, these are anything from confirmed films, they are just preliminary ideas, but the fact alone that they are being considered is pretty darn cool.
May 24, 2000 - Just a brief tidbit; Jonathan's drama Speedway Junky will be opening in theaters this August. The movie, made in 1998, is just finally now seeking release, and even that will be limited distribution.
May 22, 2000 - More on Tim's latest film, the Disney ensemble comedy Big Trouble. Katie Holmes ("Dawson's Creek") is in negotiations to star in the film as Rene Russo's daughter. The Barry Sonnenfeld-directed project is set to begin shooting on August 1 in Miami. For the story, click here. As always, thanks to LL for the update.
May 18, 2000 - I have seen the Galaxy Quest DVD and it is a really good movie and a really good DVD. Also, I have been informed that Tim Allen is in negotiations to star in a new movie from Walt Disney Pictures called Big Trouble. The comedy is based on a story by humor columnist/author Dave Barry. Also in talks to star in the movie are Rene Russo (Outbreak, The Thomas Crown Affair) and Tom Sizemore (Saving Private Ryan). The movie--about a suitcase with a bomb that affects the lives of various people--will begin shooting in August in Miami under the supervision of director Barry Sonnenfeld (Men in Black). For more information, click here or here. Thanks to LL for the update. May 9, 2000 - I received the much-talked about Galaxy Quest DVD yesterday...so I'll be able to watch it and review it over the weekend. Just to let you know from what I've seen, the menus are incredible, the disc is packed with features, and the widescreen transfer is impeccable. The Dolby Digital sound is one of the best I've ever heard on a DVD too...but when I finally get a chance to see the whole film, I'll let you know. In the meantime, I've put together a ZIP file which contains three different sizes of full-color Galaxy Quest wallpaper and four full-color Galaxy Quest icons. I created everything, so nothing can be redistributed by itself. Click here to download it. The 1.5 MB contains eight files (including a text document explaining how to set them up) and should take no more than 5 minutes to download. Enjoy!
April 25, 2000 - In case you haven't seen it yet, I have added an information page on Everything You Wanted to Know about Toy Story 2. Toy Story 2 will be released to video and DVD (with Toy Story) this October. This is a long time to wait, but at least it will make a great Christmas present. April 20, 2000 - I've added a new section to the Home Improvement Zone....a posters store. You will be able to get posters from the Home Improvement cast's movies here. Keep checking for newly-added posters. Also, UpcomingMovies.com has added a page for Tim's upcoming film Cletis Tout, which it turns out might also star Sarah Michelle Gellar if she chooses this project during her summer hiatus from "Buffy". April 17, 2000 - Buzz Lightyear, Woody, and the Green Army Men are finally coming home to DVD...well sort of. Disney announced today some details on the August 8th release of Buzz Lightyear of Star Command. For those of you unfamiliar with this, this is the collection of the first three episodes of the upcoming Saturday morning Toy Story cartoon. While Buzz is the only one from the movies who sounds like he'll be on the show (with the exception of Zurg and maybe a few cameos), the DVD version (retail: $29.99) will feature a track of audio commentary from Buzz, Woody, and the Green Army Men. In addition to the movie itself (which will be presented in fullscreen format) will be animated storybook feature and an interactive trivia game. The animation will be done as standard cel animation, not the computer animation done in the Toy Story movies. In any event, it seems like this DVD will be out before the two Toy Story films on DVD, so this will be a nice addition to anyone's DVD collection. Oh yeah, and Buzz Lightyear of Star Command will also be available on VHS (without all the special features, of course). You can pre-order it now on VHS ($20.95 - 16% off) or DVD ($17.99 - 40% off). One other story worth noting. Tim Allen and Tom Hanks are up for the Best On-Screen Duo award for their performances as Buzz and Woody in Toy Story 2 at the 2000 MTV Movie Awards. Of course, they won't win because 1) it's the MTV audience and 2) no one visits sites like this which inspire people to back the Toolman. In any event, click here to vote on Best On-Screen Duo and other MTV Movie Awards. April 30, 2000 - The Home Improvement Zone has begun a new campaign: a petition to Walt Disney Pictures to release more of their animated and live action films on DVD. To date, the studio has been particularly slow in releasing movies among our favorites. These include Jonathan Taylor Thomas' The Lion King, Man of the House, and Tom and Huck and Tim Allen's Toy Story and Jungle 2 Jungle. The petition also seeks DVD releases for such films as Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin, Dumbo, Angels in the Outfield, Cheetah, D2: The Mighty Ducks and Fantasia. The petition also encourages Disney to put more time and effort into their DVDs, including doing Collector's Editions with anamorphic transfers (where applicable) for such treasured films that have already been released in a minimal fashion: The Little Mermaid, The Jungle Book, 101 Dalmatians, and Lady and the Tramp. Whether or not you have a DVD player yet, this should be of interest to you. I urge you to sign the petition. For full details and to sign the petition, simply click here. If you are interested in further supporting the cause, I encourage you to let others know about the petition and if you have a website of your own, e-mail me and I can send you a banner to put up on your site. Thanks for your support, Disney will listen up if enough people make their voices heard. April 15, 2000 - The 2000 Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards just wrapped up. Toy Story 2 won nothing, despite four nominations. Not surprisingly, Nickelodeon shows swept all the television categories they were nominated in. That means, that all but the Favorite Television Friends award went to a Nick show. Fortunately, the Favorite TV Friends award went to Ben Savage and Rider Strong for "Boy Meets World". Will Smith won three awards, more than any other nominee. Joining Will as well as "Home Improvement" stars Tim Allen and Jonathan Taylor Thomas in the Kids' Choice Hall of Fame was tonight's host Rosie O'Donnell. Rosie, a four-time host, took home the Golden Blimp in addition to beating out Tim Allen for the Favorite Celebrity Voice in a Cartoon. Adam Sandler, Favorite Actor winner, saw his hit film Big Daddy edge Toy Story 2 in the Favorite Movie category. Overall, the awards were a lot of fun. Just wish Toy Story 2 could have picked up an award. Oh yeah, and nobody won the contest, because, quite simply, no one entered. I had correctly picked a majority of the winners, predicting 14 out of the 25 actual winners. For a complete list of the winners, click here. Also worth noting is that yesterday on the Comedy Channel making an appearance was none other than Richard Karn. Thanks to Lina for this piece of info as well as Thursday's Ally McBeal tidbit. Lastly, MSNBC is airing the special one-hour Toy Story episode of "Time & Again" tomorrow morning at 6 AM EST. This includes interviews with Tim Allen and others, so just in case you want to set your timers, I'm letting you know. April 9, 2000 - Two more upbeat reviews for the Galaxy Quest DVD at DVD Shrine and DVD Verdict. Also at DVD Verdict, there's a contest where you can win the DVD! All you have to do is click here and answer five very easy questions. They're giving away 10 DVDs, so maybe you can win. Lastly, I found a somewhat recent interview of Tim Allen by Dave (Uncle Joey) Coulier of "Full House" fame. Also, there is a new poll below. April 8, 2000 - Not much news to update you on. Not many of you who care. Tim Allen is still recovering from that appendectomy he had last fall, and he is doing much better. Oh, and those Nickelodeon Awards Contest entries are coming in like hotcakes! So far, I have, well zero entries. Thanks for your enthusiasm everyone! Next weekend are the awards, they'll be very good, I think. The Galaxy Quest DVD got another very positive review at The Digital Bits. The film will be released on video and DVD in less than a month now. Still no official word from Disney about the two Toy Story films coming to DVD, other than "this year". I will be updating the DVD pages this weekend (not that anyone cares or plans to visit them). April 1, 2000 - The Galaxy Quest Special Edition DVD has received a rave review at DVDFile.com. Meanwhile, it's good to see other HI cast members are finding new projects. Debbe Dunning, known by millions of fans as Heidi the "Tool Time" girl, is in a new Fox Family Channel original movie, called The Spiral Staircase. Sounds pretty good, check it out when it debuts Sunday, April 2 at 8 PM on Fox Family.
Tonight, Saturday Night Central on Comedy Central is featuring stand up comedy acts hosted by Tim Allen. Now, I don't think Tim is going to be there live, or anything, but nevertheless it should be cool to see the Toolman as star attraction. So check that out tonight, April 1, at 8 PM on Comedy Central.
Now, in just two short weeks, the greatest awards show will be held. That is, the Annual Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards. There is a new contest related to the awards that gives all of you another chance to get a great deal on the Toy Story DVDs when they come out. All you have to do is guess the winners, and I have helped you out quite a bit. The Kids' Choice Awards are going to be great, so don't miss them when they air on Nick April 15. The contest will run until midnight of April 14, so you have just two weeks to make your picks.
Speaking of awards, as you all know, Toy Story 2 lost in the Best Song category at the Oscars to Tarzan's "You'll Be in My Heart". I'm at least glad that Tarzan won, as Phil Collins deserved the award more than the other nominees.
Lastly, Tim Allen has signed on to do another film project. This one doesn't sound like as sure a hit as Smile does. The film is called Cletis Tout, and is an independent comedy co-starring Christian Slater. In it, Tim plays a bizzare, quirky hitman who is supposed to kill the person whom Slater has assumed the identity of. It will begin filming in May so you can expect release, at the earliest, this upcoming fall/winter. But as we all know from Jonathan's Speedway Junkie, independents can sometimes take a VERY long time to be released. Click here, here, here, or here for more info on Cletis Tout. Much thanks to Lina for filling me in as always. March 26, 2000 - Toy Story 2's "When She Loved Me" is up for the Best Song award tonight at the 72nd Annual Oscars. Am I the only one who thinks the movie should also be up for Best Picture? After all, it did win Best Picture (Comedy/Musical) at the Golden Globes. The movie won NOTHING at all at the TNT Rough Cut Internet Movie Awards, so hopefully the Academy will recognize the awesome film. Be sure to vote for Tim and Toy Story 2 at the Nickelodeon awards (link below), the awards seem like they will be great. On another note, judging from lack of activity on the message boards, and the low number of feedback e-mails I have been receiving, I am considering closing down this site. Oh well, if no one cares about this site, why bother? I have a few good ideas for future pages, including something for the much-anticipated Toy Story DVD release, but if interest is the low, I'm not going to waste my time. Well, you can e-mail me if you think I shouldn't shut down this site. But considering how few people appreciate my work, I'm guessing I'll receive very few e-mails. This site isn't worth spending time on if no one cares about it and no one visits it. March 21, 2000 - A pleasant news announcement for today. Awards season continues, as Tim Allen's films Galaxy Quest and Toy Story 2 were nominated for 10 awards and 2 awards, respectively, at the 26th Annual Saturn Awards. The awards honor fantasy, horror, and science-fiction films. Galaxy Quest, classified as a sci-fi film, is tied for the second most nominations. These include Best Science Fiction Film and Best Actor (Tim Allen). Toy Story 2, classified as Fantasy Film, is up for Best Fantasy Film as well as Best Score (Randy Newman). For full details, click here. Thank to Caren for the info. Also be sure to vote for Toy Story 2 at Nickelodeon, link below. Lastly, you may notice the new banner. If you see anything that interests you (even mildly), please click on it. You clicking on it contributes to me being able to keep this site going and keep it up-to-date and content-filled. Think of it as your way of saying you like this site and appreciate all the hard work that goes into it. March 18, 2000 - All kids (and kids at heart, meaning all you Tim Allen fans), be sure to vote for Tim Allen and Toy Story 2 NOW at the Annual Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards. Hurry, time is running out! Click here to vote! The awards can be seen April 15 on Nickelodeon. March 12, 2000 - Hello all, voting at the TNT Awards ends Friday, so please support Toy Story 2 by clicking on the button below. Also for all you kids (and kids at heart), the Annual Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards are approaching. The awards will be held in April, but voting should start very soon. Currently, all Nick has is info on the nominees. Tim Allen is up for Favorite Celebrity Voice, and Toy Story 2 is also nominated for Favorite Movie and Favorite Video Game. As for Toy Story and Toy Story 2 on DVD, I have posted the latest update on the situation on the Toy Story/Toy Story 2 Message Board including some of the known features on the Collector's Editions of the discs! Be sure to check it out and in the meantime, get that DVD player if you haven't yet...once you get the two Collector's Editions of TS and TS2 (4 discs total), you'll know what I mean. Toy Story and Toy Story 2 are both currently in production. No dates have been set for their release, but the more recent of the two could be out this summer, with the original possibly coming out for the holidays. Here's the good news: both will be released in dual editions - a standard edition and a hefty 2-disc collector's edition (a la A Bug's Life and Tarzan). For those of you who won the contest (anyone who entered), as soon as info is released, I'll send you the information on how to claim your prize--the best possible deal on either version of either movie--stay tuned. They should be great. And you'll probably want to wait a little while (if necessary) to get the Collector's Edition 2-disc set...should definitely be worth it. Lastly, you may have heard that Tim Allen's character Buzz Lightyear is getting his own TV show. That's right, the world's favorite battery-powered pal is set to star in a standard animated cartoon on Disney's One Saturday Morning programming on ABC beginning this fall. Wayne Knight (the voice of Al in TS2) will provide the voice of Zurg (Buzz's nemesis for the few people who haven't yet seen the movie), as will other celebrities. But, no big surprise here, Tim Allen of course won't be voicing the space ranger in the show. Also, the series will focus on space rangers and their intergalactic duty...Woody and the rest of the toy gang won't be in it. Sounds interesting, plus Pixar is going to do a computer-animated opening credits sequence. The show will eventually move to UPN in addition to ABC, beginning this October. The first few episodes of "Buzz Lightyear: Space Ranger" will be placed together as one big movie to be sold on Disney video too. Expect a new poll soon...and some more news updates this weekend. February 24, 2000 - Tim Allen's Galaxy Quest is bursting onto video and DVD May 2. But you can buy the movie now and save on a pre-order through the Home Improvement Zone Store. You won't have to pay until the movie is shipped, and you will get it on the day it is released. You can pre-order the Galaxy Quest video for $19.99 (13% off) by clicking here. Or save even more and see the film in all its glory (with a bunch of nifty special features) by pre-ordering the DVD for only $16.19 (40% off!). Click here to read about all the special features available only on the Signature Series Galaxy Quest DVD. February 23, 2000 - Anyway, TNT Rough Cut has an interesting Q & A with Tim Allen. Tim talks about Galaxy Quest, the "Home Improvement" finale, and his love of sci-fi films. Interesting that TNT mentions Meet Wally Sparks as one of Tim's failures, considering he just had a brief cameo. Anyway, this is all leading to my major point, TNT Rough Cut has informed me that Tim's Toy Story 2 is up for a slew of awards at the Internet Movie Awards, and it's up to you the Internet surfers to vote for the film. Anyway, TS2 is nominated for Best Film, Best Special Effects, Best Official Movie Website, Best Script, and Best Movie Music. However, Tim's other film Galaxy Quest is also nominated for awards: the sci/fi comedy is being considered for Best Official Movie Website, Best Special Effects, Most Underhyped Movie. You'll have to make some tough decisions in the website and special effects categories, between Tim's two outstanding films. Voting begins next week. More to come soon. To go to the TNT Rough Cut site, click here. February 22, 2000 - As promised, the Toy Story 2 Desktop Theme is finished. Sorry it took so long, but I believe it's one of the best themes available on the movie. I have uploaded the 2.5 MB ZIP file, but it seems like it's not downloading in full. I don't understand why only 88 KB are downloading, the whole file is uploaded and is recognized...see if you can download it. You need WinZip to extract the files. There are 56 files in the theme. There are 23 full-color icons, 2 Winamp skins, 13 cursors, 4 wallpaper images (2 sizes of 2 different images), the official screensaver, and 11 sound clips from the hit Disney sequel. If you have any problems installing the theme, e-mail me and I'll help you out. Also, e-mail me with your opinion of the theme and what you like about it. Also, in response to popular request, I've added a Toy Story Song Lyrics Page. Click here to go to that page with lyrics to four of the two films' songs. Also, don't forget to vote in the new poll below. February 21,
2000 - Happy President's Day to all...you may notice that the
site changes have begun. Hopefully, you find this site's new
layout to be better and easier to navigate. Still have a lot of
work to go, but I will do it. I looked around the Internet the
other day and it is kind of pathetic how there are so few sites on this
show (without doubt one of the greatest television shows ever). The sites that do exist on "Home Improvement" are either
very basic, very out-of-date, in German, or a combination of
these three. There really are only about five worthwhile sites on
"Home Improvement" still on the Net. So it is my goal
to create one supersite that serves the same purpose that many
many decent sites would. I can only hope you like this site,
judging from site visits and e-mails, that is not a very sure
thing. Please take a moment to e-mail me and tell me what you
think about A) this site, B) the site change, C) what else you
would like to see on the site. Thanks a lot, the seconds you
spend in writing me that e-mail will prove well-spent, as I will
change the site according to how you would like. In addition, check
out the new poll below. Oh yeah, and the Toy Story DVD contest is over. Since so few people entered, I'm making a little change...anyone who sent me a predicted date is a winner. Maybe next time more people will enter the contest. I'll be sending an e-mail to the winners soon. Unfortunately, it appears that the video/DVD release date for Toy Story 2 at least may be much later than originally expected. While a May release date had been discussed, it now might be as late as October! I'm sure most people don't want to have to wait that long, but it's not official just yet so I'll keep you posted. Lastly, I hope to get a new discussion started on the Message Board. So please post a response to my question. February 16,
2000 - DreamWorks announced today that a feature-filled Signature
Series DVD of Tim Allen's Galaxy Quest will be released on May 2.
This special edition disc will contain an anamorphic widescreen
transfer, Dolby Digital 5.1 channel surround sound, a track of
audio commentary (it would be awesome if it was Tim talking, but
I'm thinking it's more likely to be special effects people or the
director), a making-of featurette, the original theatrical
trailer, production notes, and cast and crew bios. Judging from
past DreamWorks DVD releases, this Galaxy Quest sounds like it
will be great. The featurettes on Small Soldiers and The
Prince of Egypt were both fifteen minutes or longer. And the
sound on Saving Private Ryan was astonishing on just a
plain set of TV speakers. At a retail price of only $29.95,
Galaxy Quest will be a great buy this spring. I'll put up a link
to pre-order the disc as soon as I can, and be aware that you'll
be able to get the disc for about $16 through this site. I'll
keep you posted with the link ASAP. Also, don't forget the Toy Story/Toy Story 2 DVD contest ends this Friday, so if
you haven't sent an entry in yet, send one! I received official
word from Disney that both Toy Story films will definitely be
released on DVD within the next few months, so let the rumors be
confirmed. Lastly, expect a major site overhaul if I can find the
time next week. Please send me any suggestions on how you would like
the site to be improved. One thing is certain, I'll be trying to
decrease the time it takes for this site to load on your
browsers. February 15, 2000 - Up
and running are two new pages, which will be receiving updates
within the next few weeks. One is a Download Center which features a set of "Home
Improvement" icons free to download. It will also include
those desktop themes to Toy Story 2 and Galaxy Quest
I've been promising. The other page is a new
section devoted to DVDs, which lets you know about the availability of HI
cast movies on DVD, what release dates are planned, and what DVDs
I (and likely some of you) would most like to see. February 6, 2000 - Time is really running out on the Toy Story DVD contest and I haven't gotten very many entries at all. Why people wouldn't want a DVD of Tim's two movies is beyond me. The contest will end on February 18 at midnight. What also is beyond me is why people actually voted that they don't want HI episodes released on DVD. Galaxy Quest ($3.3 million) came in 7th at the box office over the weekend and brought its total gross to $63 million. TS2 (11th place, $2.2 M) is up to $237 million total, making it the 19th highest grossing film in the USA, right behind Ghostbusters. TS2 opens in a number of European locales on Friday, which will add to its overall worldwide gross. February 5, 2000 - The new poll appears below...I promise it's the last DVD one for a while. January 30, 2000 - Jonathan Taylor Thomas appeared on The Late Show with Jay Leno Friday night. The 18-year-old actor discussed his new movie Common Ground which premiered on Showtime Saturday night. Jonathan also talked about what colleges he is considering attending next year, discussed how he is at driving, and cleared up those gay rumors. I have updated all the cast pages, and I'm working on improving the entire layout of this site. If you have any suggestions, please e-mail me. Over the weekend, Galaxy Quest came in seventh at the box office with 3.5 million to bring its total gross up to $59 million. Also, a pleasant surprise...Toy Story 2 is back in the top 10 with $2.4 million. TS2, already the second most successful animated film ever, has grossed $234 million, and is staying strong ten weeks after its initial release. The film will be opening in a number of places overseas this Friday. Lastly, I am extending the second weekly poll, because well no one's been voting at it. So I'm making it easier just vote right below here. January 28, 2000 - There is a brand new contest at The Home Improvement Zone, the first ever at this site. Well, the winner will get something related to the Toy Story movies. January 24, 2000 - Toy Story 2 won the Best Picture Award (for a Musical or Comedy) at the Golden Globe Awards last night! It's no surprise, the movie is terrific. If you haven't seen it yet, what are you waiting for? Go out and see Tim's latest movies, between TS2 and Galaxy Quest! January 22, 2000 - Jonathan Taylor Thomas continues to go for different roles by starring in the Showtime original drama Common Ground. The TV movie co-stars Jason Priestly, Margot Kidder, Dan Lauria, Steven Webber, Beau Bridges, and Eric Stoltz. Jonathan plays a gay teenager in a 1970s New England town, where the view on homosexuality has been changing over time. Common Ground premieres next Saturday, January 29 at 8:00 PM. The program is rated TV-MA and runs 1 hour and 30 minutes long. On a much lighter note, you can click here to visit a brand new Tim Allen page. Also, the second weekly poll is now up, so go ahead and vote. January 15, 2000 - From now on, this site will feature a weekly poll, a little question related to the show or its actors and their movies. There will be a new one each week, this one is more general and less HI-related than it is entertainment-related. Well, the Galaxy Quest desktop theme is just about complete, it should be available to download in a few days. I have also just about completed a page on Jonathan's I'll Be Home For Christmas which I will upload shortly as well. Now, about that contest. It's nothing too big, but if you are interested in Toy Story you'll want to check it out to win something. For now, you can check out the newly-released Special Edition Toy Story video, which came out last Tuesday as the first of Disney's Gold Collection videos for the year 2000. The special edition contains the original 1995 film, plus a music video, a Pixar short, and more bonus features. January 12, 2000 - Coming soon, in addition to the two desktop themes, is a contest in conjunction with the anticipated DVD release of the two Toy Story films. More information will be provided soon, so keep checking for future updates.
January 11, 2000 - Good news! It's official, Disney and Buena Vista will be releasing the original Toy Story to DVD in a few months in conjunction with Toy Story 2. Both will be receiving direct digital transfers from the computers at Pixar Studios to the discs at your local store and soon your home. Well, the "Gold Classic Collection" of Toy Story was released on VHS today, and only VHS...with a couple of extra features. I'm expecting TS and TS2 to hit stores on DVD in late April, so don't hold your breath. But judging from Pixar's outstanding treatment of A Bug's Life on DVD in two formats, you can only imagine how great these two films will be in the digital format. On a somewhat unrelated note, I am currently working on desktop themes for Tim's two current films, Toy Story 2 and Galaxy Quest. These themes will be for Windows 95/98 users to download in a .ZIP format, complete with wallpapers, cursors, icons, color scheme, a Winamp skin, an active desktop display, and more. Which leads me to my point. If anyone has WAV sound clips from the two films (any clips at all) and thinks they would be good for the theme, please send them to me and I will give you credit in the theme. The themes would be MUCH better with sounds so if you could help me out, I'd appreciate it. That's all for now...hopefully the themes will be done in a few weeks. OLDER NEWS: January 10, 2000 - Weekend Update: Well, Tim Allen's two films are staying strong at the box office. Toy Story 2 came in sixth place at box offices, bringing in $7.5 million over the weekend. The film has now grossed over $220 million in its 7-week run, making it the 21st highest grossing film at USA box offices ever. TS2 was surpassed by Tim's other film, the sci-fi/comedy Galaxy Quest, which moved up for the second straight week, finishing in fifth place with $8.3 million to bring the film's total up to $38.8 million. January 8, 2000: I finally finished and uploaded the Patricia Richardson page. I also updated all the other cast pages, now all but Earl Hindman's page are done. Pages on Tim's films, The Santa Clause and For Richer or Poorer are also completed. January 2, 2000: Well, happy New Year everyone...hope you all had a very merry Christmas! I apologize for the lack of updates recently...so I'll attempt to recap all the happenings of the past month or so in this paragraph. By the way, it's good that the whole Y2K thing turned out to be a whole lot of nothing for the most part. Tim Allen's two new movies have been playing in US theaters now for a little while. Toy Story 2 has been really dominating the American box offices. As of the new year, the film is one of the top 30 grossing films in the United States...EVER. It has recently surpassed the $191 million domestic intake of the first Toy Story and among 1999 films, TS2 is the fourth highest-grossing movie. The film was re-released on Christmas Day with outtake credits, similar to "Home Improvement" except of course, they are not real bloopers, just a creation by Pixar animators to reward some repeat viewers, a la their A Bug's Life strategy. From a movie tie-in view, Christmas meant lots of TS2 toys under the Christmas tree for boys and girls all over the world. The film is set to open in many European theaters in February. Americans can expect a video and DVD release in late April. Galaxy Quest has just completed its second weekend at the box offices, finishing 6th with a weekend gross of $10 million. Its opening weekend placed it 8th at American box offices, which was mildly disappointing, but may be due in part to the boycott of the film by Regal Cinemas. On a positive note, the sci-fi/comedy has been receiving many positive reviews. So hopefully, word will spread and more people will flock to theaters to see Tim's six major motion picture. Tim recently made the talk show rounds (his appearances included "The Rosie O'Donnell Show", "The Late Show with Jay Leno", "Live with Regis and Kathie-Lee", and "The View") to promote GQ and there was an in-depth article written on the actor in USA Today. The article discusses among other things, Tim's recent separation from his longtime wife and clears up the rumors that tabloids have been running. Jonathan Taylor Thomas' holiday film I'll Be Home For Christmas was released to video and DVD on November 9th. It is available to purchase in the Home Improvement Zone Store. You can now buy the Galaxy Quest book from the store. (11/16): Tim Allen is set to star in a new movie. The Toolman himself has signed on to do a new film called Smile. As if starring in the upcomingToy Story 2 and Galaxy Quest wasn't enough for the star of "Home Improvement", he will play a comedian who is hired by a wealthy man to cheer up his son who is sad over the recent death of his mother. Allen will also produce the film, which is said to be a heartfelt comedy (I guess something along the lines of Patch Adams). The film will be written and directed by Mick Davis. Brian Reilly, the producer of Tim's The Santa Clause and Jungle 2 Jungle, will co-produce the film. This will be the first film for Reilly and Allen's Disney-based Boxing Cat Films partnership. Sounds like a good project, but don't expect it to hit theaters until the fall of 2000 at the earliest. For more on the Disney film that was agreed upon today, visit Canoe's Jam! Movies. Thanks to LL for filling me in on the news.
Cletis Tout - independent drama seeking distribution
Joe Somebody - Production to start in April for a late 2001/early 2002 theatrical release
The Santa Clause 2: Escape Clause - Disney sequel set to begin filming later this year for a November 2002 theatrical release
Dr. Seuss' The Cat in the Hat - Universal/Imagine big-budget family film set to begin filming late 2001/early 2002 in hopes of a 2002 or 2003 release
StarChild - Paramount sci-fi/comedy to begin production in 2002 for a 2003 release
I guess Smile, the rumored comedy/drama film by Disney that was discussed over a year ago is off the schedule now, since there has been no news on it.
TOY STORY
TOY STORY 2
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Now availableThe Ultimate Toy
Box 3-Disc Collector's Set
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Thirdly, and perhaps most importantly, the Digital Bits (www.digitalbits.com) had the following to report after attending a National Studio Day Event:
