The legalities of Disney and ALIEN....

[FettFan]

Okay so....Universal has an Alien vs. Predator haunted house at both of their parks, so obviously they were able to get the theme park rights for the Alien (owned by Fox).

However, we all know that Disney originally acquired the rights to the character back in the 1980s, with the intention of creating "Nostromo", a dark ride/show that would feature the alien attacking the guests. "Nostromo" had WDI in a tizzy, because that was just something you wouldn't find at a Disney park....so the idea was re-worked (with a tad bit of help from George Lucas) into the show we all know and love as The ExtraTERRORestrial Alien Encounter,

while the Xenomorph we all know and love was relegated to being a prop at the Great Movie Ride.

So my question is...did the rights to the Xenomoprh expire because Disney never did anything more with it? (see Roger Corman's low-budget "Fantastic Four", made solely for the studio to keep the rights)
Or is "Alien vs. Predator" considered a separate franchise from the mainstream Alien films?

And does the presence of AVP at Universal affect the Great Movie Ride, if a refurbishment should ever happen?

 

[Cmdr_Crimson]

I still like to know WHAT Lucas did for the attraction...It really doesn't seem like anything very Lucas-like to this except slapping his name on the former entrance sign.

What also interesting is the Teaser ad they shown which clearly shows the Xenomorph and part of it's tail...

 

[WondersOfLife]

This is actually an interesting question... These kind of questions never occur on these threads.. -watch-

 

[Bairstow]

However, we all know that Disney originally acquired the rights to the character back in the 1980s, with the intention of creating "Nostromo", a dark ride/show that would feature the alien attacking the guests. "Nostromo" had WDI in a tizzy, because that was just something you wouldn't find at a Disney park....so the idea was re-worked (with a tad bit of help from George Lucas) into the show we all know and love as The ExtraTERRORestrial Alien Encounter,

No idea if it's correct, but there's an account of that here: http://progresslandblog.com/tag/astro-orbiter/

 

[lazyboy97o]

Licensing deals are made on a case-by-case basis and are not always exclusive.

 

[FettFan]

I still like to know WHAT Lucas did for the attraction...It really doesn't seem like anything very Lucas-like to this except slapping his name on the former entrance sign.

What also interesting is the Teaser ad they shown which clearly shows the Xenomorph and part of it's tail...

According to Jim Hill Media, George Lucas was the man that talked Eisner into abandoning the Xenomorph entirely for an original creature.

having a direct tie-in to 20th Century Fox's movies would make "Alien Encounter" that much easier to promote. It seemed like the logical choice to Eisner.

This news appalled the senior Imagineering staff. They were horrified at the thought of the "Alien" movie monster starring in a Disney theme park attraction. Since Eisner hadn't heeded their counsel, these Imagineers decided to appeal to a higher authority: George Lucas.

At the time, Lucas was working closely with Walt Disney Imagineering. He was helping WDI finalize plans for the "Indiana Jones Adventure," a ground-breaking new attraction that the Imagineers hoped to install at Disneyland's Adventureland in the mid-1990s. Given Lucas's extensive experience with special effects and sound effects, he and his staff at ILM were also doing some consulting on the "Alien Encounter" project.

Who actually spoke with George and what was said ...

...

What is known is that these senior Imagineers discreetly approached Lucas and voiced their concerns about "Alien Encounter" being too intense for small children. George allegedly listened politely, then agreed that 20th Century Fox's movie monster probably didn't belong in a Disney theme park. Lucas promised to talk to Eisner about the proposed attraction, and then ...

A few days later, Eisner called a meeting with the "Alien Encounter" production team. He announced that he'd had a change of heart and no longer believed the show should be built around 20th Century Fox's movie monster. Eisner went on to say that he felt that the "Alien" monster was just too scary to serve as the central character of a Disney theme park attraction. He then said -- while he appreciated all the hard work the Imagineers had put into the Fox monster version of the show -- he was certain that WDI could come up with a monster of its own that would be just as good. One not quite as frightening as the first monster was, mind you, but something that would still work within the confines of the show.

Oh ... and one other thing Eisner mentioned: George Lucas would now be acting as an unofficial producer on the "Alien Encounter" project.

Lucas also was allowed to have final script approval by Eisner, but other than that he was suffering from "absentee landlord" syndrome.