Fresh news on the Disney v. Deadmau5 front: Deadmau5 has responded to Disney’s 171 page report to the Trademark Office with his own report, which totals over 1,000 pages. In the report Deadmau5 says that Disney, through a concert promotion company, approached him about “re-imagining” Fantasia for the films’s 75th anniversary. According to the report,
“The pitch involved Deadmau5 creating and performing new original music at live Fantasia concerts at major venues around the world, including the Hollywood Bowl. The rationale given for selecting deadmau5 for this opportunity was that: ‘Deadmau5 is the most innovative musician of our time, and Disney the most successful entertainment brand to ever exist. Bringing these two visionaries together, with this particular franchise, provides an incredible opportunity that could touch millions of people around the world.’”
Furthermore, the report details that an appearance on the Jimmy Kimmel Show was blocked by someone “pretty far up the chain” saying “we have to stay away from [Deadmau5] until the matter is resolved.” Both of these actions are a bit confusing when you learn that Disney was open to collaborating with Deadmau5 on a number of projects, most notably ones in the Star Wars universe. We posted late last month that Flux Pavilion was pegged to remix the Star Wars theme for the new show “Star Wars Rebel” but that position was originally intended for Deadmau5, before all of the legal trouble.
As the legal battle continues forward, we are left yearning for what could have been if the two egos set aside and worked together to recreate “Fantasia” or help usher in a new generation to a galaxy far, far away. With no immediate end in sight, we will continue to keep everyone posted with new happenings out of the respective camps.