Disney buy Lucas Films for $4.05billion

[t8yman]

I dont see what is so wrong with being cynical about a movie being primarily about marketing toys and directly writing it to appeal to the lowest common denominator. (which is basically every SW movie since Empire)

[The Nal]

I dont see what is so wrong with being cynical about a movie being primarily about marketing toys and directly writing it to appeal to the lowest common denominator. (which is basically every SW movie since Empire)

Edited October 31, 2012 by The Nal

[AcademicPistol]

*EDIT* Does anyone think $4b is a bit low? Those 3 new Star Wars are almost certainly gonna get over a billion a piece and merch rights to Star Wars & Indiana Jones plus the effects & sound companies (that a lot of other studios use) and the video game company makes me think Disney will get their money back very quickly and something else may be going on.

[jump]

It shouldn't be a problem for them make there money back but it will probably take a few years the first film isn't even out until 2015. Maybe Lucas wants to retire now

[minute5072]

Forget Star Wars, let's get a Grim Fandango film out...

[Kowalski]

[AcademicPistol]

Less than 3 years isn't that far off and apparently the plans is to release the other 2 with a year gap (2017 & 2019) so by 6 years that's the money back if they milk the the merch (which they will) and probably more.

Maybe he thinks the world will in end in December?

[Kyelo]

To me, sh*t films or not, Lucas is a genius for even being able to think that stuff up. Now what he wants to do with his creation is for him to decide, fanboys are just that individual fans with individual opinions. Tough sh*t.

As for Disney taking over I'll hold judgement, they have a hell of a lot of skills and finance so whatever they make you can guarantee they throw the works at it. Will it work, nobody knows.

I'm an odd one though, I don't mind the new ones

[The Nal]

[Purple Monkey]

To me, sh*t films or not, Lucas is a genius for even being able to think that stuff up.

Edited November 1, 2012 by Purple Monkey

[The Nal]

And the new ones were always shit, and have aged horribly. Horribly.

[mrtourette]

Lucas also pinched the vast majority of the ideas from Flash Gordon. To his credit he injected some interesting (but basic) philosophical ideas into a sci-fi yarn but by and large was surpassed as a director in every sense by Irvin Kirschner - the man responsible for the only Star Wars film that still holds up by today's standards: The Empire Strikes Back. The actual emotional core of the Star Wars universe is contained almost entirely in Empire Strikes Back; it's existence elevates the first film beyond a daft adventure to sci-fi epic and it's resonance makes Return Of The Jedi's issues quite forgivable. That's the movie that Lucas had the least involvement with.

[Ed209]

[Purple Monkey]

[Donkey]

Well, he only half-thought it.

If you've ever worked in a 'creative' industry you'll quickly realise there is no one visionary controlling absolutely everything.

More of the actual awe-inspiring ideas you're probably thinking he created were realised by a team of artists and hard working creative thinkers, not Lucas. To my mind, Ralph McQuarrie was the closest thing to the real visionary of Star Wars. It's also a huge fucking lie/myth/heap of marketing bullshit that Lucas had it all planned out, since McQuarrie was the man responsible for turning Darth Vader from a thuggish officer into a masked monster (for purely design-based reasons since most of the first film featured on spaceships, which Lucas LATER worked into the actual story itself - when he claims Anakin was the main dude all along and he had this yarn penned in his noggin all those years - that's actually provable bullshit and you can tell just by watching the first film that it wasn't the case).

This is the man who re-invisioned cinema, an artist most people have never heard of. Typical.

http://www.google.co...w=1600&bih=1115

Lucas also pinched the vast majority of the ideas from Flash Gordon. To his credit he injected some interesting (but basic) philosophical ideas into a sci-fi yarn but by and large was surpassed as a director in every sense by Irvin Kirschner - the man responsible for the only Star Wars film that still holds up by today's standards: The Empire Strikes Back. The actual emotional core of the Star Wars universe is contained almost entirely in Empire Strikes Back; it's existence elevates the first film beyond a daft adventure to sci-fi epic and it's resonance makes Return Of The Jedi's issues quite forgivable. That's the movie that Lucas had the least involvement with.

Lucas wanted to repackage Flash Gordon and sell it. His motivation for creating the vast array of characters came from a desire to sell a vast amount of action figures. Ralph McQuarrie took those cynical ideas and transformed them into something entirely new - without him you would not have had Darth Vader, Boba Fett, Chewbacca, Yoda, Hoth, Endor, Star Destroyers, The Millenium Falcon, X-Wings or Tie Fighters, you would have had a straight up Flash Gordon knock-off and we wouldn't be talking about it right now because it would have fallen on its arse.

And that's not even mentioning John Williams who elevated those films beyond Lucas' wettest dreams with that fucking astounding music.

We should always celebrate the people truly responsible, not just the businessmen whose names pop up first on the credits.

And the new ones were always shit, and have aged horribly. Horribly. The ret-conning of the established canon has ruined what little artistic integrity it once had.

I really couldn't give a shit who owns this franchise. At this stage it's akin to worrying about a second iceberg hitting the Titanic. It's in the same state the Batman franchise was in after Joel Schumacher shat all over it. It needs a complete overhaul, not more of the same.

I'll applaud Disney if they finally decide to scrap that God awful Clone Wars bollocks, but I won't hold my breath.

[Purple Monkey]

I agree about McQuarrie, but the original Star Wars film is an unashamed rip-off of Kurosawa's 'Hidden Fortress', not Flash Gordon.

Edited November 2, 2012 by Purple Monkey

[LondonTom]

[jump]

The search for the director of the Star Wars flick has begun and Mathew Vaughan is the front runner, other names on the list include Speilberg, Neil Blomkamp (guy who did District 9), Alfonso Cuaron (did 1 of the Harry Potters and Children Of Men) and Darren Aronofsky.

[LondonTom]

Get Nolan in for a reboot

[jump]

Disney are now trying to buy Hasbro apparently, which would give them Transformers, GI Joe, My Little Pony and various other crap.

I know Disney are rich and all that but how can they keep afford to spend billions buying other brand/companies every year now?

Edited November 7, 2012 by jump

[LondonTom]

I know Disney are rich and all that but how can they keep afford to spend billions buying other brand/companies every year now?