George Lucas sold Lucasfilm, LTD to Disney for a whopping $4.05 BILLION!This is pretty staggering news in Hollywood. When Lucas came out with Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope in 1977 it changed Hollywood forever (some may say for the better some say for worse). The short story is the Lucas shopped the idea of the film to all the studios and they all told him to get lost. Alan Ladd, Jr took a chance on the young director and 20th Century Fox would release the film. Suffice to say that after Star Wars became a big hit, all the studio execs who told Lucas to get lost soon found themselves in the unemployment line. Lucas also got the merchandising rights (at the time there wasn't a lot of movie merchandise other than shirts and posters) and it's this that would go on to fund Lucas' film empire and also got Alan Ladd, Jr fired eventually as well because the studio got ZERO dollars from the sale of all the Star Wars merchandise (believe me you when I say there was a lot of it. Since I was kid during those days I had may share of stuff for sure). Now every film that comes out has merchandising opportunities. Even a bloodthirsty killing machine like Alien for crying out loud!
Lucas stopped directing after Star Wars and would go on to become a top notch producer and innovator in film technology. In 1999 Lucas wrote and directed Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace. I won't go into a review of the film but let's just say that his 22 year hiatus from directing showed. Say what you want about the prequels, they were not as good as the first 3 films but they were entertaining and they made a pile of money.
So now Disney owns Star Wars. That means more sequels. I have mixed feelings about this. Sure I'm intrigued by the idea of how the "New Republic" does after the destruction of the Empire but without Lucas' vision, I have my doubts. On a side note there have been several post Episode VI stories in print form that are very good (I read Timothy Zahn's "Dark Force Rising" trilogy and thought it was excellent) and you can't do anything Star Wars without the blessing of Lucas. Will Disney cheapen the franchise? It can be argued that Lucas has cheapened Star Wars with the digital enhancement mid-90's re-releases and the different DVD sets but Lucas has always reinvested in his company that has brought new filming technology and better sound quality in movie theaters.
That answer that question is...it's very possible. It's Hollywood dogma to turn a successful film into a franchise and milk it for every cent it's got in it. Did we really need a Pirates of the Caribbean 4? Absolutely not, but Disney thought it could wring another few hundred million out of it. Episode Seven is scheduled for a 2015 release. Lucas will also be turning over the producer reigns to Kathleen Kennedy. Ms. Kennedy is charged with keeping Lucas' vision as the franchise heads into the future. Allegedly, Lucas has up to 12 chapters of the franchise that's he's worked on. Lucas himself said, "It's now time for me to pass 'Star Wars' on to a new generation of filmmakers. I've always believed that 'Star Wars' could live beyond me, and I thought it was important to set up the transition during my lifetime."
I'm curious to say the least about life in the galaxy after the demise of the Galactic Empire. Does Leia get into politics? What will Luke do as the last Jedi? Does Han Solo's life get boring? Though I worry that Lucas won't be hands on. It's his vision. It didn't work out so well when Spielberg finished Kubrick's vision in AI after Kubrick died during filming. Rest assured I will give anything Star Wars a chance.
Lucas stopped directing after Star Wars and would go on to become a top notch producer and innovator in film technology. In 1999 Lucas wrote and directed Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace. I won't go into a review of the film but let's just say that his 22 year hiatus from directing showed. Say what you want about the prequels, they were not as good as the first 3 films but they were entertaining and they made a pile of money.
So now Disney owns Star Wars. That means more sequels. I have mixed feelings about this. Sure I'm intrigued by the idea of how the "New Republic" does after the destruction of the Empire but without Lucas' vision, I have my doubts. On a side note there have been several post Episode VI stories in print form that are very good (I read Timothy Zahn's "Dark Force Rising" trilogy and thought it was excellent) and you can't do anything Star Wars without the blessing of Lucas. Will Disney cheapen the franchise? It can be argued that Lucas has cheapened Star Wars with the digital enhancement mid-90's re-releases and the different DVD sets but Lucas has always reinvested in his company that has brought new filming technology and better sound quality in movie theaters.
That answer that question is...it's very possible. It's Hollywood dogma to turn a successful film into a franchise and milk it for every cent it's got in it. Did we really need a Pirates of the Caribbean 4? Absolutely not, but Disney thought it could wring another few hundred million out of it. Episode Seven is scheduled for a 2015 release. Lucas will also be turning over the producer reigns to Kathleen Kennedy. Ms. Kennedy is charged with keeping Lucas' vision as the franchise heads into the future. Allegedly, Lucas has up to 12 chapters of the franchise that's he's worked on. Lucas himself said, "It's now time for me to pass 'Star Wars' on to a new generation of filmmakers. I've always believed that 'Star Wars' could live beyond me, and I thought it was important to set up the transition during my lifetime."
I'm curious to say the least about life in the galaxy after the demise of the Galactic Empire. Does Leia get into politics? What will Luke do as the last Jedi? Does Han Solo's life get boring? Though I worry that Lucas won't be hands on. It's his vision. It didn't work out so well when Spielberg finished Kubrick's vision in AI after Kubrick died during filming. Rest assured I will give anything Star Wars a chance.
No comments:
Post a Comment