Disney Buys LucasFilm, Star Wars Episode 7 in 2015

Tanglebones wrote:
KingGorilla wrote:
Strangeblades wrote:

Disney employs a wide range of talent. Anything they do with Lucas's stuff is sure to be better. I cannot wait to see what comes out of this match-up.

Vader and Wolverine are going to be much less badass after Kingdom Hearts

FTFY.

I read the X-Men and Batman crossover. You don't tell me what makes them less bad ass after that trainwreck. Jubilee was Robin, I cannot get that memory out of my brain.

Quintin_Stone wrote:
ccesarano wrote:
Strangeblades wrote:

I'm just happy that Stars Wars and Lucasfilms are being given to people who are mostly like us.

Technically Paul W.S. Anderson and Uwe Boll are "people like us" as well.

HOW IS UWE BOLL ANYTHING LIKE ME?!

You know man, you know.

Quintin_Stone wrote:
ccesarano wrote:
Strangeblades wrote:

I'm just happy that Stars Wars and Lucasfilms are being given to people who are mostly like us.

Technically Paul W.S. Anderson and Uwe Boll are "people like us" as well.

HOW IS UWE BOLL ANYTHING LIKE ME?!

Okay, Uwe Boll is nothing like you.

You are like Uwe Boll.

gore wrote:

Are you actually referring to this thread, or is that just something you read somewhere else on the internet? Because I don't recall people expressing such concerns about the Star Wars franchise in this thread.

I might be stretching people's words, and I might also be mixing impressions I've seen on Twitter and Facebook with this thread as well. It's also that I only discovered last year that Cars was as despised as it is (or maybe I should just say panned?), which makes it all the more surprising.

In any event, I'll stop discussing it since it would get too far off-topic anyway.

All I have to say is Tron: Legacy was better than Episode 1, and for all I know so is John Carter, so I'll give Disney the benefit of the doubt.

But seriously, I am wondering how those two are "technically like us".

IMAGE(http://i.imgur.com/Bmdrs.jpg)

So, my personal take on Cars 2:

Cars 2 is the only Pixar movie where the story didn't get me to tear up.

Every other Pixar movie, going back to Toy Story 1, and forward to Brave, got me to notice how dusty the theaters can be sometimes. But not Cars 2.

Quintin_Stone wrote:

But seriously, I am wondering how those two are "technically like us".

We are kind of getting into how are Homo Sapiens and Pan troglodytes (chimps) are alike. Sometimes we do not like our ape brothers.

Stele wrote:

It's not "omg the sky is falling." It's more... mild concern, a positive but cautious outlook. While WALL-E, Up, and Toy Story 3 were all really good, and still deserving of the name Pixar, Cars 2 was not and never should have been made. But it was, and clearly just for merchandising. A cash grab ruins a lot of the artistic integrity the studio had built over the previous 15 years.

...

Anyway it's likely that we'll get some good stuff out of Disney-LucasFilm. But we may also get a clunker like Cars 2, to cash in on toys. Hopefully we get some good stuff first. Hopefully we don't get a clunker at all. It would be hard for them to do anything worse than Episode 1. ;)

Seems like Star Wars will fit right in.

Quintin_Stone wrote:

But seriously, I am wondering how those two are "technically like us".

They made those films because they love the source material. Sure they made sh*tty movies that did that source material no justice, but that's also because they're just plain sh*tty film makers. I know a lot of people have kind words for Event Horizon, but to me I was left thinking "Man, no wonder Paul W.S. Anderson keeps making films off of other people's material".

Uwe Boll tries to make movies that somehow fit into the canon of the games without being the story of the games themselves (except for maybe Postal?), while Paul W.S. Anderson tries to write a story for movies that have a lot of visual accuracies and homages to the source material (this includes Alien vs. Predator having a few shots torn right out of the original films).

So they are "people like us" in that they are passionate about this aspect of media. They just happen to suck at making movies and telling stories, and therefore it does no one any favors.

ccesarano wrote:

Not unless they make a Star Wars television show, because Disney doesn't have any good television shows. Movies? Plenty. TV shows? Nothin'.

There's a lot of vapid crap for sure, especially with live acting. On the animation front they're doing some great stuff though. Have you watched any Phineas and Ferb, Tron: Uprising, or holy-crap-I-can't-breathe-now Gravity Falls?

As far as my take:

The current management at Disney has demonstrated to me that they understand how to preserve and respect acquired franchises from a fan perspective. Frankly, I don't know how they're doing it without any major missteps. They seem to treat acquired IP with an even greater degree of respect than what was generated by Disney in days gone by. As long as this continues they have my trust.

LouZiffer wrote:

The current management at Disney has demonstrated to me that they understand how to preserve and respect acquired franchises from a fan perspective. Frankly, I don't know how they're doing it without any major missteps. They seem to treat acquired IP with an even greater degree of respect than what was generated by Disney in days gone by. As long as this continues they have my trust.

It's certainly easy to look at Marvel and Pixar as success stories.

I do think this is a little different, though; in the cases of both Pixar and Marvel, it sure looks from the outside like Disney basically said: "you guys are good, keep doing good stuff, we've got your back." I'm not sure that Lucasfilm is as healthy (from a creative standpoint, I'm sure they print money) as either Pixar or Marvel were when they were acquired.

What has Lucasfilm done lately? Red Tails? Disney might need to take the scalpel to this one in a way that their other acquisitions didn't really require. I'm not saying they're incapable of that, just that Lucasfilm might be a bit more challenging.

Does the purchase also include ILM and its subsidiaries?

gore wrote:
LouZiffer wrote:

The current management at Disney has demonstrated to me that they understand how to preserve and respect acquired franchises from a fan perspective. Frankly, I don't know how they're doing it without any major missteps. They seem to treat acquired IP with an even greater degree of respect than what was generated by Disney in days gone by. As long as this continues they have my trust.

It's certainly easy to look at Marvel and Pixar as success stories.

I do think this is a little different, though; in the cases of both Pixar and Marvel, it sure looks from the outside like Disney basically said: "you guys are good, keep doing good stuff, we've got your back." I'm not sure that Lucasfilm is as healthy (from a creative standpoint, I'm sure they print money) as either Pixar or Marvel were when they were acquired.

What has Lucasfilm done lately? Red Tails? Disney might need to take the scalpel to this one in a way that their other acquisitions didn't really require. I'm not saying they're incapable of that, just that Lucasfilm might be a bit more challenging.

In saying what I did above, I also am considering Disney's treatment of the Muppets franchise (which is as close to Lucasfilm as they've had so far), as well as their relinquishing creative control of their animation studio and theme parks to Pixar creative chief John Lasseter. Disney has been going far beyond "you guys keep doing what you're doing" lately... which in itself is not the Disney we saw in the 1990's. Current management is all about relinquishing control to the people who know better than they do about creating lasting value. Those are the people who understand the fans. (EDIT: By the way, I think anyone with a brain knows that George Lucas isn't "one of those"...)

gore wrote:
Duoae wrote:

All the Lucasarts held game titles are now dead in the water. Seriously, outside of film tie-ins things are dead.

Man, I guess I need to give up waiting for Loom II.

IMAGE(http://i.imgur.com/DBCwx.png)

ccesarano wrote:
Quintin_Stone wrote:

But seriously, I am wondering how those two are "technically like us".

They made those films because they love the source material. Sure they made sh*tty movies that did that source material no justice, but that's also because they're just plain sh*tty film makers. I know a lot of people have kind words for Event Horizon, but to me I was left thinking "Man, no wonder Paul W.S. Anderson keeps making films off of other people's material".

Eh, I doubt Uwe Boll plays games or really loves the source material.

That said, I also don't think of the Disney people as being like us.

Tanglebones wrote:

Does the purchase also include ILM and its subsidiaries?

Yes.

Reposting, as I am actually surprised at the amount of people that think this is a good thing. Regardless what people think about Lucas, his company and subsidiaries were unique in their scope and creativity. Pixar was born there. Now they are part of one of the largest media conglomerates on the planet. Do not get me wrong, I want my Kingdom Hearts: Revenge of the Clone Jawas, but look at the list below.

So the empire purchased the empire.

Perspective:

Assets owned:

The Walt Disney Studios
Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment
Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures

Motion pictures
Walt Disney Pictures
Disneynature

Animation
Walt Disney Animation Studios
DisneyToon Studios
Pixar Animation Studios

Disney Music Group
Walt Disney Records
Hollywood Records
Disney Music Publishing (see Disney Music Group page for a list of publishers that are part of Disney Music Publishing)

Disney Theatrical Group
Disney Theatrical Productions
Disney Live Family Entertainment
Music Theatre International
Disney on Ice - produced by Feld Entertainment
Disney Live - produced by Feld Entertainment
Disney Character Voices International

Disney Studio Services

Walt Disney Studios (Burbank)
Golden Oak Ranch
Prospect Studios
KABC7 Studio B
Disney Digital Studio Services

Disney–ABC Television Group
Disney/ABC Television Group Digital Media
Walt Disney Television
Disney Television Animation
Disney-ABC Domestic Television - formerly Buena Vista Television
Disney-ABC International Television - formerly Buena Vista International Television
ABC Television Network
ABC News

Equity Stakes
A+E Networks - (joint venture between Disney (50%) and Hearst Corporation (50%))

ABC Entertainment Group
ABC Entertainment
ABC Studios - formerly Touchstone Television & ABC Television Studios
ABC Digital
Times Square Studios (division)

ABC Family
ABC Family
ABC Spark - with Corus Entertainment
ABC Family Digital

ABC Owned Television Stations Group
WLS-7 Chicago, Illinois
KFSN-30 Fresno, California
KTRK-13 Houston, Texas
KABC-7 Los Angeles, California
On The Red Carpet
WABC-7 New York City
WPVI-6 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
WTVD-11 Raleigh-Durham
KGO-7 San Francisco, California
Live Well Network
ABC National Television Sales
ABC Regional Sports and Entertainment Sales

Disney Channels Worldwide
Disney Channel
Disney Cinemagic
Disney Junior
Disney XD
Hungama
Radio Disney

Hyperion Books
ABC Daytime Press
ESPN Books
Hyperion eBooks
Hyperion Audiobooks
VOICE

ESPN, Inc.
(Disney 80%, Hearst Corporation 20%)
ESPN and HD
ESPN2 and HD
ESPN on ABC - formerly ABC Sports
ESPN Classic
ESPNews and HD
ESPN Deportes
ESPN Films
ESPNU
ESPN Now
ESPN Plus
ESPN Original Entertainment
ESPN Pay-Per-View
ESPN Regional Television
ESPN International (see for complete list of channels)
ESPN America
ESPN Star Sports (joint venture between Disney (50%) and News Corporation (50%))
TSN (20%)
ESPN Radio
Mobile ESPN
ESPN3
ESPN The Magazine
ESPN Books (an imprint of Disney's Hyperion Books)
ESPN Home Entertainment
ESPN Outdoors
BASS
ESPN Digital Center

Disney Interactive Media Group
Hulu (27%)
Playdom

Disney Online
disney.com
DigiSynd, social media marketing
Take180 -Disney's YouTube channel
Disney Family Network websites[
family.com
Kaboose.com
Babyzone.com
AmazingMoms.com
Funschool.com
Zeeks.com
babble.com
Disneybaby.com
Disney Family (Family.com)
Spoonful.com
Go.com - formerly GO Network
FamilyFun.com
Wondertime.com
Disney Interactive Studios
Avalanche Software
Junction Point Studios
Gamestar
Rocket Pack

Disney Mobile
Tapulous

Disney Online Studios
Club Penguin
Pirates of the Caribbean Online
World of Cars Online

Disney Consumer Products
Disney Baby
D23
Disney Store
Disneystore.com
World of Disney Store
Disney Publishing Worldwide
Disney·Hyperion
Disney·Jump at the Sun
Hyperion Books
Disney Press
Disney Editions
Disney Libri
Disney Libros (Spain)
Disney Educational Productions
Disney Kids Magazines (hundreds of publications are included, listed below are just a few)
W.I.T.C.H.
Topolino
Disney Princess Magazine
Winnie the Pooh Magazine
Fairies Magazine
Mickey Mouse Magazine
CrossGen - restarted as an imprint by Marvel Comics
Disney English
The Baby Einstein Company
Disney Learning
Disney Book Apps

Parks & Resorts
Adventures by Disney
Walt Disney Imagineering
Anaheim, California, United States
Disneyland - 1955
Disney California Adventure Park - 2001
Downtown Disney (California)
Disneyland Hotel
Disney's Grand Californian Hotel
Disney's Paradise Pier Hotel
Walt Disney World Resort
Lake Buena Vista, Florida, United States
Magic Kingdom - 1971
Epcot - 1982
Disney's Hollywood Studios - 1989
Disney's Animal Kingdom - 1998
Downtown Disney (Florida)
Pleasure Island
Downtown Disney Marketplace
Downtown Disney Westside
ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex
Typhoon Lagoon - 1989
Blizzard Beach - 1994
Disney's Saratoga Springs Resort & Spa
Disney's Old Key West Resort
Disney's Animal Kingdom Lodge
Disney's Beach Club Resort
Disney's BoardWalk Inn
Disney's Contemporary Resort
Disney's Grand Floridian Resort and Spa
Disney's Polynesian Resort
Disney's Wilderness Lodge
Disney's Yacht Club Resort
Disney's Fort Wilderness Resort & Campground
Disney's Caribbean Beach Resort
Disney's Coronado Springs Resort
Disney's Port Orleans Resort, French Quarter
Disney's Port Orleans Resort, Riverside (formerly known as Disney's Dixie Landings Resort)
Disney's All-Star Movies Resort
Disney's All-Star Music Resort
Disney's All-Star Sports Resort
Disney's Pop Century Resort
Disney's Art of Animation Resort
Tokyo Disney Resort
Tokyo Disneyland - 1983
Tokyo DisneySea - 2001
Ikspiari
Disney Ambassador Hotel
Tokyo DisneySea Hotel MiraCosta
Tokyo Disneyland Hotel
Disneyland Paris
Opened on 12 April 1992 as the Euro Disney Resort. Located in Marne-la-Vallée, France (Disney 51%, public shareholders 49%)
Euro Disney S.C.A.
Disneyland Park - 1992
Walt Disney Studios - 2002
Disney Village - 1992
Disney's Davy Crockett Ranch
Disneyland Hotel
Disney's Hotel Cheyenne
Disney's Hotel New York
Disney's Hotel Santa Fe
Disney's Newport Bay Club
Disney's Sequoia Lodge
Hong Kong Disneyland Resort
Penny's Bay, Lantau Island, Hong Kong (Disney 48%, Hong Kong Government 52%)
Hong Kong International Theme Parks
Hong Kong Disneyland - 2005
Inspiration Lake - 2005
Hong Kong Disneyland Hotel
Disney's Hollywood Hotel
Disney Cruise Line
Disney Magic - 1998
Disney Wonder - 1999
Castaway Cay - 1998
Disney Dream- 2011
Disney Fantasy- 2012
Disney Vacation Club
Disney's BoardWalk Villas, Walt Disney World Resort
Disney's Beach Club Villas, Walt Disney World Resort
Disney's Old Key West Resort, Walt Disney World Resort
Disney's Saratoga Springs Resort & Spa, Walt Disney World Resort
The Villas at Disney's Wilderness Lodge, Walt Disney World Resort
Bay Lake Tower at Disney's Contemporary Resort, Walt Disney World Resort
The Villas at Disney's Animal Kingdom Lodge, Walt Disney World Resort
Disney's Vero Beach Resort, Vero Beach, Florida
Disney's Hilton Head Island Resort, Hilton Head Island, South Carolina
The Villas at Disney's Grand Californian Hotel & Spa, Disneyland Resort

Marvel Entertainment
Marvel Characters, Inc.
Marvel Studios
Marvel Music
Marvel Television division
Marvel Animation
MLG Productions 1 - MLG Productions 7
Marvel Film Productions LLC (Delaware)
MVL Productions LLC: an indirect wholly owned film development subsidiary[53]
MVL Film Finance LLC: holder of Marvel's Movie debt and theatrical film rights to the ten characters as collateral.
MVL Rights, LLC: subsidiary holding movie rights of all Marvel Characters with some on contract with MVL Film Finance
Iron Works Productions LLC: subsidiary holding debt to finance the Iron Man films.
Incredible Productions LLC (Delaware): subsidiary holding debt to finance the Incredible Hulk film
MVL Iron Works Productions Canada, Inc. (Province of Ontario)
MVL Incredible Productions Canada, Inc. (Province of Ontario)
Asgard Productions LLC (Delaware)
Green Guy Toons LLC (Delaware)
Squad Productions LLC (Delaware)
MVL Development LLC (Delaware)
Marvel Entertainment International Limited (United Kingdom)
Marvel Internet Productions LLC (Delaware)
Marvel Property, Inc. (Delaware)
MRV, Inc. (Delaware)
MVL International C.V. (The Netherlands)
Marvel Worldwide, Inc.
Marvel Comics
Icon Comics
MAX
Ultimate Comics
Marvel Press
Marvel Toys division
Marvel Toys Limited (Hong Kong)

Lucasfilm
Industrial Light & Magic
Skywalker Sound
LucasArts
Lucas Licensing
Lucas Learning
Lucas Books
Lucasfilm Animation
Lucasfilm Animation Singapore
Lucas Marketing
Lucas Online

Other Assets
BVS Entertainment/Saban Entertainment library - some or all of the Power Rangers rights sold to Saban Brands
DePatie-Freleng Enterprises / Marvel Productions, Ltd. library
El Capitan Theatre
The Muppets Studio (formerly Muppets Holding Company LLC)
Times Square Studios
It's a Laugh Productions
Silver Creek Pictures, Inc.
Catalyst Investments, LLC
POW! Entertainment - 10% of the outstanding shares of stock[8]
Reedy Creek Energy Services
International Business Ventures:
Miravista Films [9]
Super RTL, Germany (joint venture between Disney [50%] and RTL Group [50%])
RTL II, Germany (15.75% stake)
UTV Software Communications (100% stake since 2/2012)
NET TV, Spain (20% stake)

Nimcosi wrote:

Reposting, as I am actually surprised at the amount of people that think this is a good thing. Regardless what people think about Lucas, his company and subsidiaries were unique in their scope and creativity. Pixar was born there. Now they are part of one of the largest media conglomerates on the planet. Do not get me wrong, I want my Kingdom Hearts: Revenge of the Clone Jawas, but look at the list below.

So the empire purchased the empire.

Werd. The only marginally good news to come from this is that Disney is such a rapacious money beast, a release of the untainted original trilogy is pretty much guaranteed, even if it is only available for a week at $200. I love Star Wars, but I don't relish the thought of new movies, I particularly don't relish the thought of a new one every two years, and man do I ought right dread the idea of them under Disney, particularly if the Marvel movies are the blueprint. While decent, each Marvel movies has the reek of brand-protecting conservativeness all over them. I wouldn't want anyone whose talent I valued anywhere near these.

Whatever you do, Disney, hands off the Holiday Special. That holds a special place in the coal-stained ventricles of my black heart.

LouZiffer wrote:

Current management is all about relinquishing control to the people who know better than they do about creating lasting value. Those are the people who understand the fans.

If they can do that with Star Wars, more power to 'em.

This franchise though... man, I just think it's going to be a real challenge to do anything with it. I don't even know what a "Star Wars fan" is at this point. Is it somebody who likes all 6 movies? Somebody who liked the first three? Somebody who liked the latest three?

Somebody who liked the Holiday Special?

Where do you take it from here?

From the briefly unedited Episode VII wiki page:

IMAGE(http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_mcqzxoc6tX1r6wgrzo1_400.jpg)

I'm not sure why it's such a big deal. Yes, Disney is going to leverage the IP for profit. That's what businesses do. If they are at all clever, they will base future movies off the better regarded extended universe novels, because half the work is done for them already. Disney has access to plenty of directors and producers who make high-quality stuff. As fun as it is to edit Disney cartoon pictures into stock footage of the trilogy, Disney is also the company that made The Avengers, Narnia, Pirates of the Caribbean, they own Marvel which licensed out the X-men movies, et al. They know how to make serious things for gamer-types as well as cartoons.

Joss Whedon would be a great choice to direct a new Star Wars film, he's probably the best Ensemble Cast large-scale director in their stable, but Nathan Fillion has the wrong kind of delivery to be Han Solo. He's not the right kind of irreverent.

Don't forget, they now also have access to Indiana Jones, Willow and Labyrinth (but if they touch Labyrinth without David Bowie's involvement, I will burn them with fire)

Skimming but : Rogue Squadron movie please!

Devonin wrote:

As fun as it is to edit Disney cartoon pictures into stock footage of the trilogy, Disney is also the company that made The Avengers, ... they own Marvel which licensed out the X-men movies, et al. They know how to make serious things for gamer-types as well as cartoons.

You realize they bought Marvel in Dec 2009?

At best they did distribution of Iron Man 2.

They might have done filming and post-production work too on Thor and Captain America, but the scripts and casting were already in hand by the time they took over.

They do get full credit for finishing the plans already laid out pre-acquisition and following through on Avengers. And they seem to be making the right decisions by keeping Whedon around for Avengers 2.

FOX did X-Men First Class and Sony did Amazing Spider-Man, so it's not like Disney-Marvel is responsible for those. The franchises were already in the other studios' hands. Not sure why you're giving credit to Disney for any of the X-Men decisions.

gore wrote:
LouZiffer wrote:

Current management is all about relinquishing control to the people who know better than they do about creating lasting value. Those are the people who understand the fans.

If they can do that with Star Wars, more power to 'em.

This franchise though... man, I just think it's going to be a real challenge to do anything with it. I don't even know what a "Star Wars fan" is at this point. Is it somebody who likes all 6 movies? Somebody who liked the first three? Somebody who liked the latest three?

Somebody who liked the Holiday Special?

Where do you take it from here?

Personally I think that, though it's going to be difficult, it's going to be very similar to the approach Disney took with the Muppets. As far as the Muppets were concerned, the original movies were a mixed bag. What Disney needed to do was get to the core of what made the Muppets what they are, and why they are appealing. They needed people who understood that, and time for them to practice so they could find the old magic that any fan would recognize. These people worked in all sorts of media from Youtube clips to new park animatronics so that from a franchise standpoint they knew what they were aiming for before a movie was ever on the table.

Disney is unique among media conglomerates where Star Wars is concerned. They already have Star Wars Weekends at Disney Hollywood Studios in May. They have experience with a very successful reboot of their Star Tours attraction (the new one is amazing). They already continuously create unique merchandise for this attraction as well, and are very successful in selling it. Now they can take advantage of new opportunities to get the people who understand why Star Wars "works" creating new bits of content. I'm expecting to see new scenes inserted into the random ones on the ride, as well as new content next May during their Star Wars celebrations. It wouldn't surprise me if another animated series or miniseries is drawn up as well in order to get the creative folks time on honing their Star Wars talents. In fact, large corporate moves being what they are, creative talent has likely been working on things for some time already.

To say it short: If anyone can wrest it out of George's hands and set things aright, I think Disney can. (If no one can... well... at least they're trying.)

Stele wrote:

This is the same studio that has repeatedly refused to do an Incredibles 2 until there's a valid story and good reason. And (see above link) Incredibles was the most profitable Pixar movie when released, and is still, 8 years and 5 movies later, 2nd behind TS3, but still it doesn't get a sequel until there's a story to tell.

Stupid goddamn artistic integrity, I want three Incredibles sequels! Violet could be a teen mom-to-be, pregnant with a half-vampire baby while Dash is still so short he wins child pageants while Mirage has become a daytime talk-show host for all I care. Just pick random fanfics and start rendering!

Anyway, Disney/Marvel canceled Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes, so obviously the two mouse ears are hiding huge red horns (for those not familiar with my allusion, Mickey Mouse, and thus Disney, are Satan).

RolandofGilead wrote:
Stele wrote:

This is the same studio that has repeatedly refused to do an Incredibles 2 until there's a valid story and good reason. And (see above link) Incredibles was the most profitable Pixar movie when released, and is still, 8 years and 5 movies later, 2nd behind TS3, but still it doesn't get a sequel until there's a story to tell.

Stupid goddamn artistic integrity, I want three Incredibles sequels! Violet could be a teen mom-to-be, pregnant with a half-vampire baby while Dash is still so short he wins child pageants while Mirage has become a daytime talk-show host for all I care. Just pick random fanfics and start rendering!

Anyway, Disney/Marvel canceled Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes, so obviously the two mouse ears are hiding huge red horns (for those not familiar with my allusion, Mickey Mouse, and thus Disney, are Satan).

Gasp! Activate Jesusween!

Strangeblades wrote:

Gasp! Activate Jesusween!

Oh no, that's a real thing.

...

Oh good. At least it's not what I thought it might be.

So to answer ... myself ... from earlier in the thread - Lucas owned 100% of Lucasefilms, with hardly any debt. So of that $4.05bn purchase price, nearly all of it goes into his bank account.

Except for this gem: “As I start a new chapter in my life, it is gratifying that I have the opportunity to devote more time and resources to philanthropy.”

That's right kiddies, he's giving away "a majority" of his proceeds from the sale. Who knows if he'll hold onto the Disney stock that he's getting, or rolling that into a trust/foundation, but its nice to see him follow in the footsteps of Gates.

Stele wrote:
Devonin wrote:

As fun as it is to edit Disney cartoon pictures into stock footage of the trilogy, Disney is also the company that made The Avengers, ... they own Marvel which licensed out the X-men movies, et al. They know how to make serious things for gamer-types as well as cartoons.

You realize they bought Marvel in Dec 2009?

At best they did distribution of Iron Man 2.

They might have done filming and post-production work too on Thor and Captain America, but the scripts and casting were already in hand by the time they took over.

They do get full credit for finishing the plans already laid out pre-acquisition and following through on Avengers. And they seem to be making the right decisions by keeping Whedon around for Avengers 2.

FOX did X-Men First Class and Sony did Amazing Spider-Man, so it's not like Disney-Marvel is responsible for those. The franchises were already in the other studios' hands. Not sure why you're giving credit to Disney for any of the X-Men decisions. :?

The intention of that statement wasn't to give them credit for the success of films that were released before the acquisition, but to demonstrate that they currently employ plenty of producers and directors who have proven that they can make movies in that style, of high quality.