Discussion A Little Help Please...

Hey everyone,

I'm writing a journalism paper about George selling Lucasfilm to Disney, and Disney's announcement of Episode VII.

My story is going to focus on the fan's reactions, thoughts, and speculations. I really need help on this.

Many of my questions have been discussed in other threads, however, in order for me to use anyone's quotes I need to ask the questions directly.

Anyone who can help me out with this, I really appreciate it.

Here are my questions:

1. George Lucas selling Lucasfilm (Star Wars) to Disney, good or bad decision? Why?

2. What would like to see Disney do with Star Wars?

3. How do feel about the announcement of Episodes VII, VIII, and IX?

4. What direction do you think they’ll go with these movies?

a. Will they pick up where Return of the Jedi left off?
b. Will there be an attempt at bringing back Ford, Hamil, and Fisher (Luke, Leia, and Han)?
c. Do think they would ever recast Luke, Leia, and Han with younger actors? If so, any suggestions?

5. Is Disney a good home for Star Wars and Lucasfilm?

6. If you worked for Disney, what would you do with the Star Wars universe/franchise?

7. Do you believe they would ever reboot the entire franchise, using the original screenplays, and completely remake episodes I – VI?

8. Many people say Disney can’t do anything to ruin Star Wars because Lucas already did it. What’s your opinion?

9. Are you familiar with Kathy Kennedy, the newly appointed president of Lucasfilm, who was chosen by Lucas himself? If so, good or bad choice?

10.Lucas has said numerous times in the past that he wants to make smaller, more personal films. In reference to his last project Red Tails, Lucas said ““I'm going to go further out than that . . . I barely got Red Tails into the theaters. The ones I'm working on now will never get into the theaters.”

Your thoughts on this?

11.Any specific directors that you’d like to see direct future Star Wars movies? Why?

 

I thought that the saga could have been left alone. I'm not THRILLED at the fact that there will be more movies, but I am glad that it is happening because Star Wars needs to get back into the public conciousness and this is a way to do it. New fans will come out of this, and fans are key to keeping any franchise alive.
I hope that the EU will be respected.

 

You're from Disney, right?

 

Please refer to me as "That guy who was named 'Person Most Likely to give Short Survey Answers" in my High School Yearbook



Here are my questions:

1. George Lucas selling Lucasfilm (Star Wars) to Disney, good or bad decision? Why? Great! Freshness and new creativity, specially from Disney Imagineers!

2. What would like to see Disney do with Star Wars? Spectacular movies with great stories/acting/directing; awesome theme park; awesome loot

3. How do feel about the announcement of Episodes VII, VIII, and IX? Like a new holiday was created just for me, where I get lots of gifts

4. What direction do you think they’ll go with these movies? Old Cast, New Menace, Intro to New Cast, Old Cast exits, New Cast beats New Menace, Circle of Life continues

a. Will they pick up where Return of the Jedi left off? Ya!
b. Will there be an attempt at bringing back Ford, Hamil, and Fisher (Luke, Leia, and Han)? Hell Ya!
c. Do think they would ever recast Luke, Leia, and Han with younger actors? If so, any suggestions? Nah, that would be pretty lame. Recasts stink.

5. Is Disney a good home for Star Wars and Lucasfilm? Best

6. If you worked for Disney, what would you do with the Star Wars universe/franchise? I'd ask to be put on Theme Park Design projects. I know what fun is, hunnybuns.

7. Do you believe they would ever reboot the entire franchise, using the original screenplays, and completely remake episodes I – VI? Waste of Time. That galaxy far far away is huge and has plenty of things going on we can check out.

8. Many people say Disney can’t do anything to ruin Star Wars because Lucas already did it. What’s your opinion? Lucas didn't ruin it. He just got lazy and to reliant on technology to do his job, thus killing his directing passion. Disney brings the freshness

9. Are you familiar with Kathy Kennedy, the newly appointed president of Lucasfilm, who was chosen by Lucas himself? If so, good or bad choice? We cool, we cool.

10.Lucas has said numerous times in the past that he wants to make smaller, more personal films. In reference to his last project Red Tails, Lucas said ““I'm going to go further out than that . . . I barely got Red Tails into the theaters. The ones I'm working on now will never get into the theaters.”

Your thoughts on this? Whatever's clever and makes him happy.

11.Any specific directors that you’d like to see direct future Star Wars movies? Why? Vaugh. Xmen First Class was excellent

 

1. Great idea - even bigger budgets and better, imo, marketing

2. Continue it.

3. I love it.

4. What direction do you think they’ll go with these movies?

a. They have to, it's continuing the story.
b. Yes and I hope a successful attempt.
c. I hope not.

5. Yes.

6. Treat it respectfully, but not so slavish that new ideas can't be introduced - I'd treat it like Pirates of the Caribbean, basically. A fun, rollicking adventure full of magic, wonder, and action.

7. No.

8. I don't think Lucas ruined anything. However, people can always be disappointed, so you never know. Can't please everyone.

9. No, but I personally think Rick McCallum was the one responsible for what most people didn't like about the prequels. So, I'm more worried about the producer than the president of Lucasfilm.

10. Deep down, he's still a renegade indie-minded filmmaker. The problem is he is surrounded by people who also have a vested interest in his films' successes and profits that he is really constrained by their input or lack thereof. Perhaps his sale to Disney will free him up to make the personal films he wants to make.

11. Gore Verbinski, see my Pirates of the Caribbean comment.

 

1. George Lucas selling Lucasfilm (Star Wars) to Disney, good or bad decision? Why?

My initial gut reaction was bad. Lucas had fought so hard to remain independent, and keep control over his franchises, I couldn't believe he would sell it all over like that. But after seeing the Lucas & Kennedy interview, and other recent news and rumors, I've changed my mind to good.

I actually figured something like this would happen upon Lucas' death(like how the Muppets are now owned by Disney). LFL and Disney have a great working relationship with Star Tours. So it made sense, guess I was just surprised it happened while he was still alive. But his reasoning for that made sense too.

2. What would like to see Disney do with Star Wars?

Have 7-9 be about the OT characters and their children. John Williams writing the score, and conducting the LSO. Ben Burt still doing the sound design. The Episode numbering should represent the 3 generations of the Skywalker saga.

Any movies after that will lose the Episode numbering(just the sub title only). There they can go to the past a few thousand years, or jump to the future(The Old Republic or Legacy for examples). The possibilities are endless.

Star Wars:Shadows of the Empire animated feature, voiced by OT actors.

3. How do feel about the announcement of Episodes VII, VIII, and IX?

Like my answer to #1, I initially thought it was bad. I was under the assumption Lucas that Lucas didn't want a new Trilogy, so to me a Star Wars without Lucas' involvement isn't Star Wars. But that Lucas interview helped improve my view on the whole deal.

He's still going to consult, and the script will be based off his treatments for the ST; so while he's not as involved as I would like, it's still not too bad. Also having Kennedy remain as head of the LFL division, it's still in good hands.

So my opinion has changed to excited.

4. What direction do you think they’ll go with these movies?

a. Will they pick up where Return of the Jedi left off?

Yes

b. Will there be an attempt at bringing back Ford, Hamil, and Fisher (Luke, Leia, and Han)?

Yes. I would like to see the ST take place about 30 years after ROTJ. I want to see all the OT actors reprise their roles, having a major presence in the new movies, shared with their children(who are in teens-early twenties).

If there are Solo and Skywalker kids, I figure why not base them on their EU counterparts(as well as Luke's wife Mara Jade). Leaving a possibility that the Thrawn Trilogy and Dark Empire may still be canon. I hope the ST erases the New Jedi Order EU. Meaning Chewie, Anakin, Mara, and Jacen are still alive(and Jacen doesn't go to the Dark Side).

The fanboy in me would even like to see Ewan, Liam, and maybe even Hayden force ghost into the ST and interact with Mark. Mostly to see main actors from the 2 different trilogies together. Oddly enough, I'm still against Hayden replacing Sebastian in ROTJ.

c. Do think they would ever recast Luke, Leia, and Han with younger actors? If so, any suggestions?

No

5. Is Disney a good home for Star Wars and Lucasfilm?

Yes

6. If you worked for Disney, what would you do with the Star Wars universe/franchise?

If you look at my avatar, I drew that almost a year ago. I did it on a concept of Disney adapting the fairytale of Episode 4. But where they added sci fi to Treasure Island, here they would take the sci fi away. It was just fan art, but now if I worked at Disney, I would make a classically animated feature on that very idea.

7. Do you believe they would ever reboot the entire franchise, using the original screenplays, and completely remake episodes I – VI?

No. The remakes/reboots hardly ever top the original. The OT are classics, leave them alone.

8. Many people say Disney can’t do anything to ruin Star Wars because Lucas already did it. What’s your opinion?

While Lucas made some questionable choices in the PT, I wouldn't say he ruined it(I still find them more or less enjoyable). If Disney was calling all the shots, instead of Kathy Kennedy still in charge of LFL, I might be worried. But I think she'll do right by Lucas, and Star Wars.

9. Are you familiar with Kathy Kennedy, the newly appointed president of Lucasfilm, who was chosen by Lucas himself? If so, good or bad choice?

Good choice

10.Lucas has said numerous times in the past that he wants to make smaller, more personal films. In reference to his last project Red Tails, Lucas said ““I'm going to go further out than that . . . I barely got Red Tails into the theaters. The ones I'm working on now will never get into the theaters.”

Your thoughts on this?

I think aside from consulting on the ST, and the Clone Wars cartoon, I think he might be retired from the smaller projects, but who knows?

11.Any specific directors that you’d like to see direct future Star Wars movies? Why?[/QUOTE]

7. Steven Speilberg(Lucas' original choice for ROTJ, he's my 2nd favorite filmmaker... After Lucas)

8. Joe Johnson(Star Wars OT concept artist, plus loved what he did with Rocketeer and Captain America)

9. Peter Jackson(loved what he did with LOTR, want to see what he can do with SW)

 

Ha ha, this is SUCH a blatant Disney plant, but I'll play along:

1. George Lucas selling Lucasfilm (Star Wars) to Disney, good or bad decision? Why?​

George Lucas is an actual genius, we'll never see his like again. He is to visuals what James Joyce was to words, but with the whimsy of Walt Disney and the technological wizardry of Edison. He's irreplaceable. But I'm sure Kennedy will pilot the ship of Star Wars worthily. ​

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2. What would like to see Disney do with Star Wars?​

Let "The Clone Wars" finish its run; keep Dave Filoni on board; explore earlier "historical" eras via animation; don't over-merchandise it; don't pull that Haiti crap with SW, use fair means of production on merchandise and don't exploit Third World Countries under the name of Star Wars; ignore the post RotJ "EU" and do your own thing. ​

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3. How do feel about the announcement of Episodes VII, VIII, and IX?​

This is a good move. It's an "easy A", just do the obvious and deliver an emotionally satisfying series.​

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4. What direction do you think they’ll go with these movies?​

Obvious, obvious and more obvious. They're planting the seeds for a long term series, there won't be any experimenting going on. But KK will make sure it's a good film. ​

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a. Will they pick up where Return of the Jedi left off?​

Yes. 30 years down the road.​

b. Will there be an attempt at bringing back Ford, Hamil, and Fisher (Luke, Leia, and Han)?​

Yes. ​

c. Do think they would ever recast Luke, Leia, and Han with younger actors? If so, any suggestions?​

No, that would be box-office suicide.​

​

5. Is Disney a good home for Star Wars and Lucasfilm?​

In theory: yes. Their business practices are less honorable than Lucasfilm's but they understand the value & potential of SW and have the money to keep the films competitive.​

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6. If you worked for Disney, what would you do with the Star Wars universe/franchise?​

Retire it and create something new. But unlike Disney, I actually have original ideas. ​

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7. Do you believe they would ever reboot the entire franchise, using the original screenplays, and completely remake episodes I – VI?​

No, that would be a waste of money and franchise suicide. ​

​

8. Many people say Disney can’t do anything to ruin Star Wars because Lucas already did it. What’s your opinion?​

No, he made brilliant films and a brilliant animated tv series. But they're esoteric and more personal than the original films. But Disney should focus on winning back the general audience. ​

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9. Are you familiar with Kathy Kennedy, the newly appointed president of Lucasfilm, who was chosen by Lucas himself? If so, good or bad choice?​

Yes, I really respect her. I was behind her nomination from Day 1. She will make the next trilogy something special.​

​

10.Lucas has said numerous times in the past that he wants to make smaller, more personal films. In reference to his last project Red Tails, Lucas said ““I'm going to go further out than that . . . I barely got Red Tails into the theaters. The ones I'm working on now will never get into the theaters.”​

​

Your thoughts on this? ​

He barely got the film in theaters: it speaks for itself. It's a wonderful film but it was the wrong time of year to release it and the marketing was unimaginative. It doesn't matter anymore, he's cooking up some seriously bizarre films. The "Fellini" side will out! Major distribution is irrelevant. ​

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11.Any specific directors that you’d like to see direct future Star Wars movies? Why?​

Steven Spielberg, Guillermo Del Toro, Joe Johnston. No one trendy, not Nolan, Abrams or Jackson. They need to have the eye of an illustrator and the humility to maintain George's style. ​

 

LOL! I wish!

 

1. George Lucas selling Lucasfilm (Star Wars) to Disney, good or bad decision? Why? Good because I never thought we would see another Star Wars movie while Lucas was in charge. He was vocal about not making any more SW movies. Now we have something to look forward to.​

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2. What would like to see Disney do with Star Wars? Make good action movies with a decent plot, some romance and a happy ending.​

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3. How do feel about the announcement of Episodes VII, VIII, and IX? I love it.​

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4. What direction do you think they’ll go with these movies? It depends on the time frame. If they are going 50 ABY then we may see Mark, Carrie and Harrison and the introduction of young Jedi...perhaps kids of theirs.​

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a. Will they pick up where Return of the Jedi left off? No idea.​

b. Will there be an attempt at bringing back Ford, Hamil, and Fisher (Luke, Leia, and Han)? I would like to see them, but I am not sure.​

c. Do think they would ever recast Luke, Leia, and Han with younger actors? If so, any suggestions? I think if they did it may be in a flash back way. Have Mark, Carrie and Harrison acting as their older selves and if they do a flashback to explain something in the movie, maybe have look alike actors or actors with their faces altered digitally to make them look like the original actors (like in Tron).​

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5. Is Disney a good home for Star Wars and Lucasfilm? Yes.​

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6. If you worked for Disney, what would you do with the Star Wars universe/franchise? I would take parts of the EU that I like and disregard the rest. I want to see Mara Jade and Luke married and their son Ben. I would like to see the Solo kids. There are a lot of great characters. ​

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7. Do you believe they would ever reboot the entire franchise, using the original screenplays, and completely remake episodes I – VI? Not the movies, that would be stupid. I can see them declaring the book Infinities so they can do whatever they want with the new trilogy. ​

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8. Many people say Disney can’t do anything to ruin Star Wars because Lucas already did it. What’s your opinion? Most people are not irritated with the storyline as much as the inclusion of Jar Jar and some other stupid characters. I know Lucas put them in for humor, but they were not funny. Also, some of the dialog was almost painful to listen to. All the actors in the PT are good actors...why they came off so stiff in the PT is beyond me.​

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9. Are you familiar with Kathy Kennedy, the newly appointed president of Lucasfilm, who was chosen by Lucas himself? If so, good or bad choice? Not familiar with her.​

​

10.Lucas has said numerous times in the past that he wants to make smaller, more personal films. In reference to his last project Red Tails, Lucas said ““I'm going to go further out than that . . . I barely got Red Tails into the theaters. The ones I'm working on now will never get into the theaters.”​

​

Your thoughts on this? None.​

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11.Any specific directors that you’d like to see direct future Star Wars movies? Why? James Cameron. He directed Aliens and that was a pretty kick butt movie. It was so much better than Alien and Prometheus. I want action and characters I care about. In Prometheus they could all die and I didn't care one bit. But I fell in love with Hick, Hudson, and the other Space Marines in the movie Aliens. I think he would do a great job. He also did Terminator 1 & 2 and Avatar. All very good movies.​

 

Thanks for the help everyone; you've given me some good quotes for my paper. Lastly, I promise you I'm not from Disney. Lol. That's not to say that I don't wish I was. However, I am truly a college student from small town Auburndale, Florida. I just simply wanted to turn something that would otherwise be boring for me (a college paper), into something interesting, and Star Wars is always interesting. Once again, thanks for all the responses.

 

You'll get an automatic A and get published if you continue with your essay/paper/article from the perspective of where society and current events were and how cinema reflected that in the 70s and upon the first Star Wars movie's impact and a compare/contrast with fans/fandom and today. The premise being that cinema now and then are similar in tone as a reaction to world/current-events, cynicism, criticism and lack of faith with political systems and the peoples' involved and how out of nowhere came this uninvited escapism and hope...one of the key differences between then and now being, the former was unexpected and the next is the absolute opposite as far as anticipation.​

 

I think writing something involving those topics is a little out of my league and capabilities.

 

My answers are in bold...
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Here are my questions:

1. George Lucas selling Lucasfilm (Star Wars) to Disney, good or bad decision? Why?
Great decision. Disney is probably the best choice to keep SW going into the future. Will everyone like the course they take? No, because that's just how it is.

2. What would like to see Disney do with Star Wars?

Finish the saga and tell us what Luke achieved after ROTJ. Then move on and start new trilogies on different eras/characters.

3. How do feel about the announcement of Episodes VII, VIII, and IX?

I feel like 13 again (when I saw ANH in theaters)

4. What direction do you think they’ll go with these movies?

Do 7-9, then off to new stuff is my hope.

a. Will they pick up where Return of the Jedi left off? No. Start roughly 30-40 years out.
b. Will there be an attempt at bringing back Ford, Hamil, and Fisher (Luke, Leia, and Han)? I hope so.
c. Do think they would ever recast Luke, Leia, and Han with younger actors? If so, any suggestions? I hope they do not recast.

5. Is Disney a good home for Star Wars and Lucasfilm?

Yes.

6. If you worked for Disney, what would you do with the Star Wars universe/franchise?

I would keep the successful teams in place at ILM/SkyWalker Sound/etc.

7. Do you believe they would ever reboot the entire franchise, using the original screenplays, and completely remake episodes I – VI?

I hope they NEVER reboot Georges original 1-6 films

8. Many people say Disney can’t do anything to ruin Star Wars because Lucas already did it. What’s your opinion?

I am sure there's room to make it worse, and to make it better.

9. Are you familiar with Kathy Kennedy, the newly appointed president of Lucasfilm, who was chosen by Lucas himself? If so, good or bad choice?

No familiar with her. George has trust in her, lets trust George.

10.Lucas has said numerous times in the past that he wants to make smaller, more personal films. In reference to his last project Red Tails, Lucas said ““I'm going to go further out than that . . . I barely got Red Tails into the theaters. The ones I'm working on now will never get into the theaters.”

Your thoughts on this? No thoughts on this.

11.Any specific directors that you’d like to see direct future Star Wars movies? Why?