This means that Disney now controls Marvel, Pixar, LucasArts, ABC, ESPN, A+E, Disney Channel plus all their own original content and of course the parks and merchandising rights for everything stated above. Those businesses most likely control the top 10 film franchises of the last few years. This is a pretty insane acquisition.
Disney has always been a merchandizing company at heart. It understood, and understands, the value of brands better than any other entertainment company on the planet. LucasFilm is the same way; George Lucas has always been a savvy merchandizer. This is not only a good portfolio acquisition for Disney, but also a good cultural match.
Therefore, it should be noted that they directly, or via tacit gatekeeping, have a huge amount of influence on our public dialog and cultural messaging.
I recently visited the Disney Hollywood Studios in Florida. There they have a Indiana Jones live action show as well as a Star Wars exhibit of some kind, I saw little kids dressed in Padawan outfits and getting to fight Darth Vader with a lightsaber (yes, looked pretty cool).
I was surprised at seeing Lucasfilm licensing these valuable properties to Disney for use in a theme park. I guess the two companies have been working together for years.
Most of these companies are a conglomerate of entertainment subsidiaries - i.e. Viacom (Paramount, MTV, Nickelodeon), Time Warner, NBC Universal / Comcast.
That said, Disney has seen a pretty steady increase in revenue (~5-6%) over the past few years.
Let's not forget they paid that 7 billion in 2006. I can almost see this as Disney trying to replace the eye for talent and negotiating power they lost in Steve Jobs' passing, along with an amazing IP acquisition.
Edit: Thought of better terms than "creative force".
> 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.
This is effectively Lucas' slow decent into retirement; he's not actively directing Episode 7 but instead consulting. Say what you want about the movies and franchises, ILM and Skywalker Sound are gold standards created by a tech visionary.
I'm no media/film expert, but this sounds like a great acquisition for Disney. The current library/brands and Disney's distribution can squeeze any cash left from past movies/brands. Going forward this can be a true money-printing machine. Lets just hope they acknowledge the internet is the retail distribution channel of today.
Also, funny how life works. Pixar, a spin-off of Lucasfilm back in the 90's "acquires" Lucasfilm. Am I right in saying that Disney's movie division is headed/managed by the Pixar guys?
There are plenty of great things about the new trilogy, even if there are missteps too. Lucas was making the films he wanted to make, and whatever happens it seems unlikely Disney will be producing films with such a deeply anti-corporatist, anti-imperialist and pacifist message:
That said, Lucas is a self-reliant guy who bootstrapped his company and deserves his success. So it is good to see him get a sale like this if he wants it. And this move will probably keep his legacy alive for much longer than if he had to keep running it himself.
On the scripting-side, this should create one of the bigger if not biggest Python house(s). Disney was converting to it when I left (many years ago) and ILM is a known proponent... their whole pipeline from front to back is accessible from it.
Episode 7? First I've heard of it. crosses fingers.
It means they bought LucasArts too. Not that LucasArts were great in the last decade or so but Disney sucks as a "parent" for game dev companies (RIP Blackrock).
(for context, note that they've been explicitly tagging their name on all their kids fare, especially stuff based on public domain or historical sources)
It's hard to understand body language without knowing the person well but on all pictures I've seen it looks like Lucas's left hand is trying to stop his right hand from signing the contract. It would seem he might have been hesitant about the deal.
[+] [-] robbiet480|13 years ago|reply
[+] [-] jonnathanson|13 years ago|reply
[+] [-] tectonic|13 years ago|reply
[+] [-] brc|13 years ago|reply
I was surprised at seeing Lucasfilm licensing these valuable properties to Disney for use in a theme park. I guess the two companies have been working together for years.
[+] [-] bduerst|13 years ago|reply
That said, Disney has seen a pretty steady increase in revenue (~5-6%) over the past few years.
[+] [-] rszrama|13 years ago|reply
[+] [-] hristov|13 years ago|reply
[+] [-] 001sky|13 years ago|reply
[+] [-] padobson|13 years ago|reply
Six years ago, they paid $7B for Pixar.[1]
Pixar used to be a subsidiary of Lucasfilm.
This means that John Lasseter is now going to have control of all of the assets that allowed him to get into making movies in the first place.
[1]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pixar#Acquisition_by_Disney
[+] [-] edgesrazor|13 years ago|reply
Edit: Thought of better terms than "creative force".
[+] [-] mariaslickflick|13 years ago|reply
[+] [-] ROFISH|13 years ago|reply
This is effectively Lucas' slow decent into retirement; he's not actively directing Episode 7 but instead consulting. Say what you want about the movies and franchises, ILM and Skywalker Sound are gold standards created by a tech visionary.
[+] [-] 2mur|13 years ago|reply
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thrawn_trilogy
[+] [-] mchanson|13 years ago|reply
[+] [-] robbiet480|13 years ago|reply
[+] [-] antr|13 years ago|reply
Also, funny how life works. Pixar, a spin-off of Lucasfilm back in the 90's "acquires" Lucasfilm. Am I right in saying that Disney's movie division is headed/managed by the Pixar guys?
[+] [-] noonespecial|13 years ago|reply
[+] [-] ryen|13 years ago|reply
I wonder if it will follow the book "Star Wars: The Truce at Bakura", which takes place immediately after Episode 6. http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/The_Truce_at_Bakura
[+] [-] brudgers|13 years ago|reply
http://redlettermedia.com/plinkett/star-wars/star-wars-episo...
[+] [-] stcredzero|13 years ago|reply
[+] [-] trevelyan|13 years ago|reply
http://homes.chass.utoronto.ca/~anne/clones.html
That said, Lucas is a self-reliant guy who bootstrapped his company and deserves his success. So it is good to see him get a sale like this if he wants it. And this move will probably keep his legacy alive for much longer than if he had to keep running it himself.
[+] [-] leeskye|13 years ago|reply
[+] [-] MrFoof|13 years ago|reply
[+] [-] greedo|13 years ago|reply
[+] [-] joshmlewis|13 years ago|reply
Does anyone know if that 100% is literal? That he didn't give away ANYTHING, even for a pool for employees?
[+] [-] mixmastamyk|13 years ago|reply
http://www.condenaststore.com/-sp/The-Final-Merger-New-Yorke...
On the scripting-side, this should create one of the bigger if not biggest Python house(s). Disney was converting to it when I left (many years ago) and ILM is a known proponent... their whole pipeline from front to back is accessible from it.
Episode 7? First I've heard of it. crosses fingers.
[+] [-] mariusmg|13 years ago|reply
[+] [-] unwiredben|13 years ago|reply
(for context, note that they've been explicitly tagging their name on all their kids fare, especially stuff based on public domain or historical sources)
[+] [-] demione|13 years ago|reply
[+] [-] tobiasbischoff|13 years ago|reply
[+] [-] chiph|13 years ago|reply
[+] [-] ekianjo|13 years ago|reply
[+] [-] apgwoz|13 years ago|reply
[+] [-] wslh|13 years ago|reply
They were a shame for fans. The best one was "the empire strikes back" and it was not directed by George Lucas.
[+] [-] ISL|13 years ago|reply
[+] [-] unknown|13 years ago|reply
[deleted]
[+] [-] kruk|13 years ago|reply