A Spirited Perfect Ten

[lazyboy97o]

So name names. Who at Disney stifled creative control from JJ and Lawrence Kasden? Kathleen Kennedy? Someone else?

I didn't say it happened. I was explaining how the process works and provided a historical example from Disney itself.

 

[Nubs70]

George Lucas has backpedaled on some of the statements he made in the Charlie Rose interview and apologised for the "white slaver" analogy:

“I have been working with Disney for 40 years and chose them as the custodians of Star Wars because of my great respect for the company and Bob Iger’s leadership,” Lucas said in his statement, issued Thursday afternoon by Disney. “Disney is doing an incredible job of taking care of and expanding the franchise. I rarely go out with statements to clarify my feelings but I feel it is important to make it clear that I am thrilled that Disney has the franchise and is moving it in such exciting directions in film, television and the parks.”

Lucas concluded by adding: “Most of all I’m blown away with the record breaking blockbuster success of the new movie and am very proud of JJ and Kathy.”

http://variety.com/2015/film/news/g...wars-successors-are-white-slavers-1201670406/

George probably got a reminder of the nondisparagement clause in the sales contract.

 

[indyumd]

Also, to blame Disney for the end of Lucasarts is based on absolutely no knowledge of the company. The last five years prior to the Disney acquisition, Lucasarts was in disarray. It had numerous leadership changes, cancelled more titles than it released and its games were a shell of its former self. In 2010, they lost something like a third of the staff to a layoff. The Lucasarts company that developed all those innovative titles was dead. The people who made that company what it was were gone.

There was absolutely no reason to continue to prop up Lucasarts to keep making Angry Birds and Lego Star Wars.

 

[doctornick]

I've read Fox has the rights to distribute A New Hope in all mediums in perpetuity. The rest is all Disney now

Not yet. Fox still owns the distribution rights to Ep I, II, III, V, and VI until May 2020. After that, they revert to Lucasfilm, so Disney will own them. As mentioned Fox has the rights for Ep IV in perpetuity.

 

[FigmentJedi]

Also, to blame Disney for the end of Lucasarts is based on absolutely no knowledge of the company. The last five years prior to the Disney acquisition, Lucasarts was in disarray. It had numerous leadership changes, cancelled more titles than it released and its games were a shell of its former self. In 2010, they lost something like a third of the staff to a layoff. The Lucasarts company that developed all those innovative titles was dead. The people who made that company what it was were gone.

There was absolutely no reason to continue to prop up Lucasarts to keep making Angry Birds and Lego Star Wars.

Oh and deciding to give the rights exclusively to EA so they could produce DLC laden half-games and freemium mobile apps was a better idea?

 

[PhotoDave219]

Not yet. Fox still owns the distribution rights to Ep I, II, III, V, and VI until May 2020. After that, they revert to Lucasfilm, so Disney will own them. As mentioned Fox has the rights for Ep IV in perpetuity.

So what the hell would would it take to get Star Wars (original release) On Blu-Ray.

 

[FigmentJedi]

Most of the EU sucked. Id rather have a focus group produce a consistent product than the drek they were turning out

New EU's more of a "This time we've got editorial oversight" with the Lucasfilm Story Group. And the way reports on Episode 8 are sounding with Johnson planning to go off the rails, saying its just focus group driven might not be the right term.

 

[Prog]

So what the hell would would it take to get Star Wars (original release) On Blu-Ray.

The consensus on fan forums seemed to be that it's not entirely clear exactly how far the jurisdiction of "distribution rights" extends.

 

[HMF]

So name names. Who at Disney stifled creative control from JJ and Lawrence Kasden? Kathleen Kennedy? Someone else?

They demanded that the new films be "Retro" and "For the fans" and the fans they want to court are the imbeciles who harassed George Lucas for years and drove him to sell the company. They let Simon (George Lucas committed infanticide) Pegg be a "Creative Advisor". I could go on.

 

[FigmentJedi]

They demanded that the new films be "Retro" and "For the fans" and the fans they want to court are the imbeciles who harassed George Lucas for years and drove him to sell the company. They let Simon (George Lucas committed infanticide) Pegg be a "Creative Advisor". I could go on.

Creative advisor and supporting character: He's the blobby junk buyer on Jakku that Rey works for/was apparently adopted by.

 

[indyumd]

They demanded that the new films be "Retro" and "For the fans" and the fans they want to court are the imbeciles who harassed George Lucas for years and drove him to sell the company. They let Simon (George Lucas committed infanticide) Pegg be a "Creative Advisor". I could go on.

WHO?

 

[HMF]

WHO?

Iger and his marketing ilk.

 

[Tigger1988]

Yeah, we really should've let George keep mucking with the classics. Who doesn't want CGI everything?!

Disney saved Star Wars and that fact POs a small subset of people. Boo hoo. Lucas got 4 billion for his "children."

 

[doctornick]

Iger and his marketing ilk.

If "Iger and his marketing ilk" are what resulted in Ep VII and the MCU films, then I'm all for them "meddling" as much as possible.

 

[HMF]

Yeah, we really should've let George keep mucking with the classics. Who doesn't want CGI everything?!

Disney saved Star Wars and that fact POs a small subset of people. Boo hoo. Lucas got 4 billion for his "children."

I would rather have a creative person like Lucas than a corporate-minded number-cruncher like Iger any day. Last time I checked it was Lucas's creation. he has the right to do whatever he wants with it.

 

[Tigger1988]

I would rather have a creative person like Lucas than a corporate-minded number-cruncher like Iger any day.

Creative in finding new ways to desecrate his own films, maybe.

He crossed the fine line from genius to insanity decades ago and his "art" suffered for it. The smartest thing he ever did was sell.

 

[HMF]

I have seen Iger Desecrate the legacy of one creative genius over the past decade now he is doing it to another.

 

[doctornick]

I would rather have a creative person like Lucas than a corporate-minded number-cruncher like Iger any day. Last time I checked it was Lucas's creation. he has the right to do whatever he wants with it.

I'm all for creative people producing quality works and for the pencil pushers to back off and let them do their job*. That said, Lucas long ago went off the deep end in terms of being able to produce quality films. He surely has vision but he's gotten to a point where he has been doing (far) more harm to Star Wars than good. So, sure, I'd like to have a "creative person" in charge of making movies; but I wouldn't want Lucas to be in charge of them at this point in his life, not if I was hoping for a quality film.

*To be honest, I completely believe that Iger and other Disney higher ups don't really interfere with the studios much at all. I think Feige for Marvel, Kennedy for Lucasfilm and Lasseter for Pixar/Disney Animation pretty much have free reign to execute their creative visions.

 

[Tigger1988]

Lucas ruined his own legacy. Have you not been paying attention? He has no one to blame but himself.

If only we could've gotten him to sell before he went through with the Special Editions.

 

[Magenta Panther]

Creative in finding new ways to desecrate his own films, maybe.

He crossed the fine line from genius to insanity decades ago and his "art" suffered for it. The smartest thing he ever did was sell.

It's been said that it was his wife, Marcia Lou Griffin, a film editor, who took the incomprehensible mess "A New Hope" was and turned it into an entertaining film. Pity she had already divorced him by the time Phantom Menace was produced. Apparently she's the unsung hero of the original trilogy's success. At least she got an Oscar and a nice fat settlement out of the deal.