I waited a few days tocomment on the acquisition of Lucasfilm by Disney. It is surelyappropriate and it places Disney in an enviable position. But thenDisney has always show the rest how to do it.
My own experiences werehardly unique, but that during the sixties and seventies I was anavid reader of science fiction and was completely aware of the visualpotential of the genre and particularly the material of Tolkein andEE Doc Smith. I had lost faith even that I would ever see it onscreen.
At the same time,Hollywood culture was decisively anti science fiction itself. Theexceptions merely proved the rule. Kubrick's 2001 was the onlybright light in decades of crummy attempts to apply the art.
In the months before StarWars was released, I read in the specialist media that this was worthit and that got me out to the early morning preview showing. Youhave no idea how unusual that was in the time and place.
With the first scene itwas obvious that Lucas had succeeded in capturing our imaginations. From that day on I knew that the whole body of science fiction andultimately fantasy could be put on the screen. There would be to endto quality content either. This evolving emergence has nowculminated in the Lord of the Rings trilogy.
Today it may be history,but with the top grossing forty or so films of all time been out ofthis genre and with the dominant franchise been Star Wars, thecombination of Disney and Lucasfilm is inevitable almost and itcertainly means a stream of great product forever.
Disney buys Star Wars Film Franchise and will make MoreEpisodes and George Lucas will consult
OCTOBER 30, 2012
http://nextbigfuture.com/2012/10/disney-buys-star-wars-film-franchise.htmlDisney is buyingLucasfilm for $4 billion, adding the legendary Star Wars franchise tothe entertainment giant's stable of characters. The latest partof the Star Wars saga, Star Wars Episode 7 is targeted for a 2015release.
"For thepast 35 years, one of my greatest pleasures has been to see Star Warspassed from one generation to the next," said George Lucas,Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Lucasfilm, in a statement."It's now time for me to pass Star Wars on to a new generationof filmmakers."
The statementabout passing onto a new generation of filmmakers seems to imply thatGeorge will not be involved in Episode 7. Disney buying thefranchise means that they will produce far more episodes and morewill be produced so long as they are profitable. If they are everunprofitable then they will reboot the universe and keep going.
LA Times -Disney Chief Executive Bob Iger said today that the long-range planwould be to release a new “Star Wars” film every two to threeyears.
Lucasfilmfounder George Lucas will act as a creative consultant for the nextfilm.
Disney willtake ownership of Lucasfilm and acquire the entire portfolio ofLucasfilm technologies, as well as its franchises like Indiana Jones.
TheLucasfilm tech includes products like THX sound and divisions likeIndustrial Light and Magic and Skywalker Sound, and a bunch of othercool toys that Disney will also acquire. Digital artist JoeRosensteel notes that this is a reunion of sorts because ILM got theRenderman animation software from Pixar back when it was a divisionof ILM, now they’re back under one roof at the Mouse House.
JayRasule, Senior EVP and CFO of Walt Disney, says that the $4.05Bvaluation focused “almost entirely on the financial potential ofthe Star Wars franchise, which we expect to provide us with a streamof storytelling opportunities for years to come delivered via allrelevant platforms on a global basis.”
Rasule says that StarWars is currently very North America-centric and focused on toys. Hesays that they plan to extend the franchise into ‘other categories’and grow it internationally. He notes that the licensing revenue ofStar Wars alone in 2012 was comparable to the $214M in productrevenue Marvel generated in 2009.
In an interview withThe Times in 2008, George Lucas said that his personal connection tothe “Star Wars” saga ended with the Ewoks on Endor.
Star Wars’: Threenew movies, Lucas won’t write or direct
Oct. 30, 2012
http://herocomplex.latimes.com/2012/10/30/star-wars-three-new-movies-lucas-wont-write-or-direct/“There really isn’tany story to tell there,” the filmmaker said at the time ofprospects for his participation in the movie life of the franchisebeyond the tale-concluding events in “Return of the Jedi.”
“I get asked all thetime, ‘What happens after “Return of the Jedi”?,’ and therereally is no answer for that,” Lucas continued. “The movies werethe story of Anakin Skywalker and Luke Skywalker, and when Luke savesthe galaxy and redeems his father, that’s where that story ends.”
The Walt Disney Co.announced today that it’s agreed to acquire Lucasfilm for $4.05billion, and word quickly followed that there are plans in place fornot one but three new “Star Wars” movies, the first of which willarrive in theaters in 2015. Lucas, however, will only serve as a“creative consultant” and will not write or direct.
“It’s true, I’mnot going to do any more,” Lucas said today in a video releasedwith the Disney Co. announcement of the deal, which will give Disneyownership of the “Star Wars” franchise and Lucas’ specialeffects, sound and animation companies.
In the video, Lucassaid that he has story treatments for Episodes Seven, Eight and Ninein the space opera and that he was going to hand that “treasuretrove” of intellectual property over to Lucasfilm’s KathleenKennedy, who will serve as executive producer on the upcoming seventhlive-action movie in the blockbuster franchise.
“We are absolutelygoing to make ‘Star Wars’ movies,” Kennedy said, using theplural, in the video.
Hiç yorum yok:
Yorum Gönder