Unless you have spent the last few weeks buried in the dungeons of the library with no electronic communication, you have probably heard that The Walt Disney Company purchased Lucasfilm, the company that created the Star Wars trilogies. According to an Oct. 30 article in the Boston Globe, George Lucas claims to have sold the company in order to create a Star Wars legacy that extends beyond his own work and life, but I just think he sold out-to the tune of four billion dollars. Lucas has relinquished control over everything Star Wars-related, nearly 41 years of his life is now owned by a mega-corporation that controls the entertainment industry.
However, this acquisition shouldn't come as a surprise-Disney has a history of buying large companies responsible for blockbuster movies; Disney previously purchased Pixar in 2006 and Marvel in 2009. I don't know what this means for the entertainment industry, but as a consumer, it makes me more hesitant to buy into their extensive film brands. In fact, a seventh installment to the Star Wars series is already slated for release in 2015, with much debate about what the plot will be under the new direction of Disney.
Personally, what made the original two trilogies so powerful was Lucas' complete personal investment in the movies, as if every vision or idea in his head was coming to life on the silver screen. It began as a man with a dream of an alternate reality, but now Star Wars is a corporate piggy bank and I fear that the overall quality of the movies will be diminished.
In his defense, Lucas has dealt with an array of critics who disapprove of the trilogy of prequels he produced, arguing that some minor events detracted from the legitimacy of the movie. So maybe it is his time to fade into the background and settle down in a Hollywood mansion, though his movie Red Tails, released earlier this year, was a success and proves he is still an important player in the industry. On the other hand, in an interview with The New York Times, Lucas stated that he may go back to film school at University of South California-where he started his film education. With that in mind, who knows what Lucas will do with the rest of his career, but hopefully, he will remain somewhat involved with the future of Star Wars.
The $4.05 billion sale, which Lucas calls his retirement fund, is half cash and half Disney stocks. This gives Lucas approximately 40 million shares of The Walt Disney Company, or 2.2 percent of total ownership.
In terms of shares owned by individual shareholders, Lucas is only preceded by the trust of Steve Jobs, who sold Pixar to Disney for another hefty sum of $7.4 billion. Interestingly, the stock price of Disney has not seen much change after the sale, which I believe suggests a general ambivalence on the part of market.
Kathleen Kennedy, formerly the cochairman of Lucasfilm, will now serve as the executive producer of the future Star Wars film and has said in interviews that she and Lucas have discussed aspects of future films and plotlines. Maybe there is hope for another generation of films, but I highly doubt that the future success will match the legacy that has already been created.
Perhaps the true winner of the deal is Kathleen Kennedy herself, who will now take on an even more active role in the Star Wars brand. She cofounded Amblin Entertainment in 1981 with Steven Spielberg and Frank Marshall, and went onto produce blockbuster hits like Schindler's List, E.T. and Jurassic Park.
Kennedy is the creative future of Star Wars; with years of experience as one of the best producers in Hollywood, I think if anyone has the talent to recreate Star Wars, it is Kennedy. Moreover, the success of the slated 2015 release of the seventh movie will also highly depend on the choice in director, which has not been released.
But now the most important matter: Star Wars' Princess Leia is officially a member of the exclusive Disney princesses club.
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