The Walt Disney Co. was reported to have refused calls made by Sen. Dianne Feinstein to join in a discussion on SOPA and PIPA with members of Silicon Valley. Sen. Feinstein was attempting to broker a truce between Hollywood and Silicon Valley, both powerful constituents in her state.

The Huffington Post is reporting that the Senator called up both Hollywood and Silicon Valley to broker a compromise on PIPA and address concerns that the tech sector had with the bill.

Walt Disney Co. CEO Bob Iger declined the invitation on behalf of Hollywood. “Hollywood did not feel that a meeting with Silicon Valley would be productive at this time,” a spokesperson said.

Unfortunately, the meeting took place with only tech companies present. Senate Democratic aides tell The Huffington Post that Sen. Feinstein is now working to amend PIPA.

To make matters worse, there is no common ground between the two sectors when it comes to these bills. As the blackout yesterday confirmed, the tech sector is completely against the bills and want them dead. This echoes what a senior Senate aide told The Huffington Post when they said that the tech sector refuses to specify precise changes to PIPA so the bill would get killed outright.

It seems that the only party that actually wants to change the bills are the senators and representatives working on PIPA and SOPA respectively. The content producers in Hollywood wants to push them through and the tech sector wants them to die. There is no compromise there and Washington is attempting to broker one. Doing so would allow them to stay on good terms with both Hollywood and the tech sector, both of which are powerful lobbying allies in Washington.

It remains to be seen if there will be any compromise on these bills, but it’s not looking good. Considering how many members of Congress dropped their support yesterday during the blackout, it’s looking more like Silicon Valley is going to get its way.

Disney announced today the launch of DisneyBaby.com, a new online destination and product showcase for expectant and new parents.

The company says that the heart of the site experience is “Disney Baby Magical Moments,” an easy-to-use tool for parents to upload their favorite baby photos and memories. These photos will feed into a collection of other photos from other parents that will flow throughout the site.

“Disneybaby.com continues Disney’s longstanding tradition of helping families create magical moments together,” Jessi Dunne, executive vice president, Disney Moms and Babies for Disney Consumer Products, said. “Our new destination emphasizes the joys of parenthood by offering tools, products and everyday solutions in a fun but meaningful way that resonate with mom’s and dad’s desire to bond with their baby.”

DisneyBaby.com is organized around key moments of the day: Getting Ready, In the Nursery, Dressing Baby, On-the-Go, Mealtime, Playtime, Bathtime and Baby’s Firsts.

The key site features include the Disney Baby product collections which features an extensive collection of Disney Baby products to meet any new child’s needs. These include nursery products, baby gear, products for feeding and bathtime, toys and clothing.

Another feature is inspired ideas which provides ideas to parents on how to proceed everyday with their new child. It offers tips on nursery design, age-based playtime activities and do-it-yourself party ideas for birthday parties and more.

The tips from real moms section provides go-to tips on a wide range of topics from making bathtime fun to stocking the diaper bag with essentials.

As mentioned before, the Disney Baby Magical Moments invites moms and dads to weave their own experiences with their child into the very fabric of the site by uploading and sharing their favorite moments and photos.

“We continue to focus on building compelling new digital platforms to serve the needs of parents at every life stage, and are very excited to introduce a new destination that shows expectant and new parents how to add a little Disney magic to their growing family’s life,” Brooke Chaffin, senior vice president, Disney Interactive Moms and Family, said.

Thanks to a partnership with Disney UK, LoveFilm will offer on-demand streaming access to ABC Studios’ library of network and cable series.

This includes shows like Castle, Lost, Desperate Housewives, Happy Endings, Grey’s Anatomy, Ghost Whisperer and Brothers & Sisters. Shows will be launched as full seasons after their first run on UK pay and/or free TV, Amazon says. Previous seasons of some series will be available to members before the next season airs in the UK.

“LoveFilm members want top class TV shows, as well as movies, to watch instantly as part of their subscription. Today’s deal with Disney brings them access to some of the best American TV content ever produced. LoveFilm’s unique combination of world class movies and TV shows ensures that LoveFilm is the first and only port of call for those who want subscription entertainment on demand,” says LoveFilm CEO Simon Calver.

“ABC TV On Demand is home to high quality, compelling US drama, produced by ABC Studios, and launching this service with LoveFilm means we are able to offer viewers more choice and flexibility in how and when they can view full seasons of these gripping shows, through one easy-to-use service,” adds Catherine Powell, senior vice president / general manager, Media Distribution, The Walt Disney Company.

Other recent LoveFilm streaming deals include Sony, BBC and ITV.

Now, competition is significantly higher for LoveFilm, as Netflix just entered the UK market last week.

With that in mind, allow us to introduce Ric Turner, the proud maker of the Angry Birds Christmas Light Game. Judging by the name, you might be expecting another version of Angry Birds that’s been reskinned for the Holiday season. In regards to Turner’s creation, however, the description let’s you know exactly what you are getting: a real life version of the Angry Birds game, done with Christmas tree lights.

The video:

Help! The pigs are trying to ruin Christmas. Grab the sling shot and fire those birds! From the people who brought you the Guitar Hero Christmas Light game! Running on two computers and 10 Light-o-rama 16 channel controllers, uses more than 20,000 lights and less than one cent of electricity per game. Audio is broadcast on 99.1FM, and the controller has a long enough cord for people to play in their cars on the street. Easier than the iPhone version, and bigger too.

It should be noted that Turner’s creativity didn’t just appear out of nowhere. Before he turned his talents to killer Christmas light displays, Turner used to ply his trade with Disney, which helps explains his animation abilities.

According to the New York Times, the deal is worth around $10 to $15 million and will bring Disney media to its very own YouTube channel. The original content will be produced entirely by Disney, and then distributed on a “co-branded channel on Disney.com and YouTube.” The new channel will also include other related YouTube content.

The first new series on the channel will be a show based on a puzzle app called “Where’s My Water.”

The motivation behind the deal is pretty obvious from Disney’s standpoint. Apparently, the company looks at the deal as a path to web videos “that can be monetized quickly.” The company has reported losses over the last few quarters, and Disney.com’s traffic is also down.

For Disney, YouTube’s popularity gives their content a better chance to be seen.

For YouTube, this looks like a move in the quality content direction. Late last month, YouTube officially announced that they would be making a push for new original content, with dozens of new channels filled with quality programming. It’s all in an effort to establish the site as a rival to cable – a place where there’s not just free content, but really good free content that can challenge standard television.

YouTube channels will feature well-known personalities and producers from many different sectors including film, food, sports, news and more. The first of these channels will go live this month, with more rolling out over the next year. You can check out some of the first entries and sign-up to be notified when they go live here.

So YouTube wants to bring quality content to their site, and Disney wants the exposure that YouTube can provide. Looks like a pretty solid matchup.

In other Disney/Google hookup news, The Muppets will be holding a Google+ Hangout on Monday evening, 7:30 EST.

What do you think about a dedicated Disney channel on YouTube? Let us know in the comments.

She is responsible for the concept art behind some of the early Disney classics like Peter Pan, Cinderella and Alice in Wonderland. She also created designs for Disney outside of the film studio – like Disneyland’s It’s a Small World attraction and a large mosaic in the Disney resort.

Today is her 100th birthday.

Blair and her husband both worked in animation, signing on with Disney in the 1940s. She helped on classics like Dumbo and Lady and the Tramp before taking time to travel to South America. When she returned, she continued to draw for Disney until the mid 1950s.

After her time at Disney, Blair was known for creating advertising campaigns for large companies like Nabisco and Maxwell House.

Blair died in 1978 of a cerebral hemorrhage,

According to her website, the magic of Mary Blair, here’s what author John Canemaker says about her art:

Beneath her deceptively simple style, lies enormous visual sophistication and craftsmanship in everything from color choices to composition.

Though much of her art veers away from naturalism toward abstraction, she was one of Walt Disney’s favorite artists; he personally responded to her use of color, naïve graphics, and the storytelling aspect in her pictures, especially the underlying emotions palpable in much of her ar

Her conceptual designs are felt running through many Disney films that we all know and love. Here’s a cool YouTube video of some of her art for Alice in Wonderland:

That means that on a basic level, Steve Jobs is responsible for some of the best animated films of the past decade and beyond – from Toy Story to Cars. Jobs’ reach extends even beyond the massive innovations he made in the personal computing and mobile technology fields.

Disney Pixar CEO John Lasseter and Ed Catmull, President of Walt Disney Pixar Animation Studios have made a joint statement on Jobs’ passing on the Disney Pixar Facebook page:

Steve Jobs was an extraordinary visionary, our very dear friend and the guiding light of the Pixar family. He saw the potential of what Pixar could be before the rest of us, and beyond what anyone ever imagined. Steve took a chance on us and believed in our crazy dream of making computer animated films; the one thing he always said was to simply ‘make it great.’ He is why Pixar turned out the way we did and his strength, integrity and love of life has made us all better people. He will forever be a part of Pixar’s DNA. Our hearts go out to his wife Laurene and their children during this incredibly difficult time.

They also posted a photo of the three together, which is the image seen above.

Disney CEO Bob Iger also had this to say about Jobs:

Steve Jobs was a great friend as well as a trusted advisor. His legacy will extend far beyond the products he created or the businesses he built. It will be the millions of people he inspired, the lives he changed, and the culture he defined. Steve was such an “original,” with a thoroughly creative, imaginative mind that defined an era. Despite all he accomplished, it feels like he was just getting started. With his passing the world has lost a rare original, Disney has lost a member of our family, and I have lost a great friend. Our thoughts and prayers are with his wife Laurene and his children during this difficult time.

Do you think Hulu should be concerned with who purchases the service? Let us know your thoughts.

Yesterday at the Allen & Co. media conference, Walt Disney Co. Chief Executive, Robert Iger, said the owners of Hulu are “committed to selling“. He also predicted the site would sale, but gave no timetable of a possible deal.

At this time there are preliminary discussions taking place with about a dozen potential buyers, according to Reuters. The list of candidates includes Google, Microsoft, Yahoo, and some non-U.S. based media companies.

Hulu is jointly owned by Disney, News Corp, Comcast Corp’s NBC Universal and Providence Equity Partners

Here’s the statement from Hulu CEO Jason Kilar about the talks:

News Corp, Disney, Providence and the Hulu team have been engaged in productive discussions to extend our existing content agreements a number of years. Keep in mind that our existing Hulu.com content agreements already extend for several more years; these discussions would extend the term further and also extend our separate Hulu Plus content agreements.

Between the operating results and formalizing the above, it is shaping up to be a big year for Hulu.

If you remember, Kilar made a splash in February when he discussed the “future of TV” in a hulu blog post. In this post he challenged the basic structure of network television, saying that there are too many ads on traditional TV and that consumers don’t want lineups that are set in stone, but want to watch shows on their own time.

According to All Things D’s sources, most of the basic structure of the contract will remain unchanged. Hulu.com will stay ad-supported and Hulu Plus will still be a paid subscription with much more content. Hulu viewers probably won’t notice much change, as the new deal is likely to only affect a small amount of programming and possibly change the windows of availability for some content.

Though the terms of the new deal may not affect the normal viewer, they make shake up things for the companies involved. Apparently the terms may also deal with more flexible content distribution, allowing the networks the right to put their programming out on other outlets as well as Hulu. Disney’s CEO Bob Iger said that he “doesn’t intend to let a platform, even one we own, get in the way of doing what we think it right” at last week’s earnings call.

The landscape of digital streaming has changed dramatically since Hulu’s inception. Hulu Plus and Netflix will probably continue to due battle for the paid streaming content market. Just recently, Hulu Plus launched on Xbox 360, joining the already present Netflix app that has been around for some time.

Intrigued? 

"Movie fans and film buffs will have unprecedented behind-the-scenes access to the 83rd Academy Awards from start to finish, beginning with the glamorous red carpet,  into the Kodak Theatre, backstage, and culminating  at the Academy’s official post-ceremony celebration, the Governors Ball," she says. 

"The site will provide a level of access into an awards show never before experienced by an online audience and is designed to be perfect companion to the Oscar telecast," the rep adds. "On Oscar Sunday, Oscar.com will offer unparalleled access to a multitude of cameras, providing online users with the ultimate insider’s view of Hollywood’s biggest night."

There will be special camera utilized specifically to provide live, behind-the-scenes footage via a "Thank You Cam". This will offer Oscar winners an extended opportunity to thank everyone they want, etc. in case they get cut off by the "wrap it up" music. 

There will also be a backstage cam aimed at capturing sound bites, backstage happenings, short interviews, and more behind-the-scenes footage. Finally, there will be Control Room and Press Room cameras. 

"Additionally, Oscar.com will offer a special ‘All Access’ premium feature that makes Hollywood’s biggest event even more accessible to movie lovers, allowing them to follow their favorite stars from the minute they set foot on the red carpet to the exclusive moments backstage and beyond," the rep says. 

Users will have to pay $4.99 to get access to live video footage of the evening’s events from over 20 cameras and "direct their own experience on the red carpet and inside the ceremony". This will utilize "360 cam" technology to control multiple cameras using a computer mouse. 

"All-Access" coverage will continue following the show, with special admission into the Governors Ball.

The Academy Awards are on February 27. The Red Carpet coverage begins at 6:30pm Eastern with the show beginning at 8:00pm Eastern on ABC.