Lucas sells out yet again

[boblipton]

George Lucas sells Lucasfilm to Disney for $4 billion....


http://mediadecoder.blogs.nytimes.com/2 ... illion/?hp" target="_blank

[Michael O'Regan]

Well....wouldn't you??

[boblipton]

Well, yes, but hey haven't made me an offer.

Bob

[Frederica]

George Lucas sells Lucasfilm to Disney for $4 billion....
http://mediadecoder.blogs.nytimes.com/2 ... illion/?hp" target="_blank" target="_blank" target="_blank

Oh hey, now he can almost buy a destroyer.

[Mike Gebert]

SF writer John Scalzi had a take on this that is pretty much what I think:

Disney. Yes, soulless corporate monster that gives babies adorable Mickey Mouse ears and tickles their chins before it swallows their souls. On the other hand: Also smart enough to buy Pixar and Marvel, give their respective brain trusts the keys to the castle, and say “Get to work.” Result: Films that are relentless commercial, entertaining and profitable, not only in themselves but in all sorts of ancillary markets. The mouse is a monster because it knows how to entertain the very living crap out of you. This can only be good for the Star Wars universe, freed now as it is from its cranky, frustrated Emperor Lucas.

In other words, I wouldn't mind some slickly entertaining Star Wars movies with no windy humbug about Jedi knights and midi-chlorians at all.

[Arndt]

In other words, I wouldn't mind some slickly entertaining Star Wars movies with no windy humbug about Jedi knights and midi-chlorians at all.

I would. There is enough brainless CGI out there already.

[R Michael Pyle]

George Lucas sells Lucasfilm to Disney for $4 billion....
http://mediadecoder.blogs.nytimes.com/2 ... illion/?hp" target="_blank" target="_blank" target="_blank" target="_blank

Oh hey, now he can almost buy a destroyer.

[ClayKing]

Anyone remember what Disney did with John Carter? ...although I suppose they couldn't do anything worse than the three Star Wars prequels.

[Mike Gebert]

John Carter is a LOT better than any of the Star Wars prequels, in that it's merely a bit muddled, doesn't make you want to claw your face off at the dialogue.

[fwtep]

The first trailer for John Carter made me very much NOT want to see it. It looked like a big-budget SyFy channel movie. But when the movie finally came out some friends dragged me to see it and I really liked it. It's not perfect, it could use some editing, and the blocking and camera work in the dialog scenes needs a lot of work, but overall it was a lot of fun. It felt to me like a cross between the original Star Wars and the 1979 Flash Gordon. It's WAY better than any of the Star Wars prequels. It also has one of my favorite scores (by Michael Giacchino) in a very long time.

[Frederica]

The first trailer for John Carter made me very much NOT want to see it. It looked like a big-budget SyFy channel movie. But when the movie finally came out some friends dragged me to see it and I really liked it. It's not perfect, it could use some editing, and the blocking and camera work in the dialog scenes needs a lot of work, but overall it was a lot of fun. It felt to me like a cross between the original Star Wars and the 1979 Flash Gordon. It's WAY better than any of the Star Wars prequels. It also has one of my favorite scores (by Michael Giacchino) in a very long time.

I also liked John Carter, although to me it's biggest flaw(s) were the banal leads. It's not my favorite movie by any means, but I had a good time. Which is pretty much what I'm looking for in a movie.

[gjohnson]

As a screenwriter Lucas is his own worst Sith.

[Mike Gebert]

I also liked John Carter, although to me it's biggest flaw(s) were the banal leads.

Not a problem that a Disney Star Wars could make worse.

[Brooksie]

Purists would argue that given that Lucas' basis for the original Star Wars trilogy was Flash Gordon and other early sci-fi serials, the idea of putting out a new Star Wars every few years is remaining true to the original concept.

I, on the other hand, pine for the days where a good movie might have been followed by an almost-as-good sequel, with a third and final installment that wasn't great but wrapped everything up in a satisfying way. And then they just left it, and walked away. Does everything have to be a 'franchise'?

[fwtep]

I also liked John Carter, although to me it's biggest flaw(s) were the banal leads.

Not a problem that a Disney Star Wars could make worse.

I think the leads could have been much better with a better director. I think Stanton was just too used to the way animation direction works, which is so much different. I don't think he has what it takes to work with an entire performance (visual and verbal) from an actor. Look how terrible even the GOOD actors are in the Star Wars prequels. Good actors still, generally, need good directors.

[FrankFay]

Maybe with Lucas on the sidelines the Star Wars movies might stop looking like animated waxworks.