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Discussion Why didn't 20 th century Fox buy out Lucasfilm instead of Disney?

Discussion in 'Archive: Disney Era Films' started by budspencer, Jul 30, 2013.

  1. budspencer

    budspencer Jedi Knight star 1

    Registered:
    Dec 23, 2010
    I mean it was a big cash cow for that company. Did they just let it slide? did they ever had the chance? I am curious about that one since they helpdes started it all....
     
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  2. bergstrom

    bergstrom Jedi Master star 2

    Registered:
    Jan 26, 2004
    Good question. Maybe Fox just couldn't cough up the cash. And if Disney approached Lucasfilm, did George ask Fox for a counter bid?
     
  3. The Hellhammer

    The Hellhammer Manager Emeritus star 5 VIP - Former Mod/RSA

    Registered:
    Nov 4, 2012
    I figure that Lucas was specifically in negotiations with Disney from the very start, that it wasn't an open sale where people could bid and outbid on the company.
    My guess is Lucas chose Disney because they give a lot of freedom to studios that they buy and that this was something Lucas felt was important for the future of the franchise.
     
  4. StoneRiver

    StoneRiver Force Ghost star 4

    Registered:
    Oct 6, 2004

    And maybe the fact he is personal friends with KK had something to do with it?

    He's signing over to the "Hollywood corporate giant" that he fought against early in his career so maybe he wanted friends on the inside looking after his interests?
     
  5. TheManFromMortis

    TheManFromMortis Jedi Master star 3

    Registered:
    Nov 19, 2012
    It's an interesting question. I suspect that it probably was a closed deal negotiated between Lucasfilm and Disney. (Moderators: Why is the spellchecker querying "Lucasfilm" but not "Disney" or is that my browser?). Also, perhaps Fox couldn't afford the 4,000,000,000 price tag. It's hardly peanuts.
     
  6. krtmd

    krtmd Jedi Master star 4

    Registered:
    Sep 5, 2012
    It's my understanding that Lucas didn't offer to sell to anyone else. I seem to recall someone from Fox saying they would have jumped at the chance to buy.
     
  7. DarthBoba

    DarthBoba Manager Emeritus star 9 VIP - Former Mod/RSA

    Registered:
    Jun 29, 2000
    This.

    Disney pretty well lets Marvel and Pixar (and Touchstone in the 90s) do as they please. There's also a lot of shared blood between the companies-Star Tours and Star Wars weekends at Disney, plus Pixar probably wouldn't be a thing if they hadn't been allowed to spend the 80s at Lucasfilm basically finding themselves as a company.

    There's probably one heck of a story behind the three-way group hug Apple, Disney, and Lucasfilm have, but it hasn't been told yet, unfortunately.
     
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  8. PrincessKenobi

    PrincessKenobi Manager Emeritus star 7 VIP - Former Mod/RSA

    Registered:
    Aug 12, 2000
    More then likely Disney approached him. Since they are trying very hard to tap into the boy market. If you recall they stopped making Princess movies because they want to focus on boys.


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  9. DarthBoba

    DarthBoba Manager Emeritus star 9 VIP - Former Mod/RSA

    Registered:
    Jun 29, 2000
    Wasn't aware that was why they haven't had too many Princess movies lately.
     
  10. PrincessKenobi

    PrincessKenobi Manager Emeritus star 7 VIP - Former Mod/RSA

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    Aug 12, 2000
    Yep. Right after Tangled released they announced that would be their last princess movie to focus on the boy market. And not long after that they bought Marvel.


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  11. krtmd

    krtmd Jedi Master star 4

    Registered:
    Sep 5, 2012
    I'd like to think SW is an everyone market.
     
  12. admiral_Jim

    admiral_Jim Jedi Master star 3

    Registered:
    May 7, 2004
    Aggressive negotiations! ;-) cash wasn't the reason in my opinion, the fact that the cash element of the acquisition was given away discounts that theory. I would imagine that it was something that has been in the pipeline for a long time, Lucas has reached the age where he can look back at his achievements and think about his legacy.....star wars was always going to out live him but by passing on the reigns of Lucasfilm to Disney, there is every chance that star wars will be at the forefront of the entertainment industry for years to come and that must be a nice feeling. Disney are the only realistic choice to achieve this I think, they have a strong presence in just about every avenue of the entertainment industry and in the whole do a fantastic job so when Lucas says Disney is the natural home for star wars I believe him
     
  13. darklordoftech

    darklordoftech Force Ghost star 6

    Registered:
    Sep 30, 2012
    Fox would have been far less troublesome because Fox has their logo on I-VI and still has the distribution rights to I-VI.
     
  14. HanSolo29

    HanSolo29 RPF/SWC/Fan Art Manager & Bill Pullman Connoisseur star 7 Staff Member Manager

    Registered:
    Apr 13, 2001
    But on the other hand, I can see Star Wars becoming stagnant under Fox's watch. You gotta give props to Disney - they will at least keep the drive going by continuing to explore new ideas and releasing new things. In the end, I think it was the right choice in terms of who to sell to - we got the better end of the deal out of it.

    And just to add onto that, I do agree with the comment about Lucas approaching Disney personally. Lucasfilm and Disney have had a great relationship since the 80s, most notably in the theme park attractions. There's no surprise that they eventually came together for good.
     
  15. darklordoftech

    darklordoftech Force Ghost star 6

    Registered:
    Sep 30, 2012
    GL always sounded like he wanted Star Wars to become stagnant.
     
  16. HanSolo29

    HanSolo29 RPF/SWC/Fan Art Manager & Bill Pullman Connoisseur star 7 Staff Member Manager

    Registered:
    Apr 13, 2001
    You know, you're absolutely right and that's something I never really understood, especially for something so successful. I know he wasn't particularly thrilled with the production (that was part of the reason why he handed the directing reigns over to others for ESB and ROTJ) as it was ongoing. Perhaps that is the reason why he decided to sell - he wanted to find someone who would take care of it and give it the attention it deserved, knowing he no longer wanted to put the effort into it. In a case like that, I think he did the right thing.

    I know a lot of the recent stuff prior to the announcement was already starting to stagnate and I fear it would've only gotten worse. I'm glad the announcement came when it did.
     
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  17. darklordoftech

    darklordoftech Force Ghost star 6

    Registered:
    Sep 30, 2012
    Didn't he say that he put in his will "no ST"? He seemed to be saying he wants it to stagnate and he doesn't want others to do something about it.
     
  18. TheStorm

    TheStorm Jedi Grand Master star 4

    Registered:
    Apr 8, 2002
    http://www.businessweek.com/article...ught-lucasfilm-and-its-plans-for-star-wars#p3

    This gives a little more insight and "facts" of how it went down. Iger and Lucas were friends for some time, and Iger asked him one time if he ever thought about selling it, and later he came to him saying he wanted to. Also in those videos released when the deal was launched, Lucas said there was no one else he wanted to have do Star Wars, it was Disney or nothing in his eyes. He knew that Disney would take proper care of it.
     
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  19. darklordoftech

    darklordoftech Force Ghost star 6

    Registered:
    Sep 30, 2012
    So maybe GL feared that Fox would make a worse ST?
     
  20. TheStorm

    TheStorm Jedi Grand Master star 4

    Registered:
    Apr 8, 2002

    Ya. Besides the constant jokes about Disney, they actually allow a lot of creative freedom and risks. John Carter and Pirates "the original" (ones successful the other not). They have done well with Pixar, really well with Marvel.
     
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  21. DarthBoba

    DarthBoba Manager Emeritus star 9 VIP - Former Mod/RSA

    Registered:
    Jun 29, 2000
    Yeah...20th Century Fox's best "Franchise" movie this decade was probably Prometheus, and that doesn't have near the mass-audience appeal Marvel and Pixar have had.

    Fox has squandered a lot of good ideas (Alien vs. Predator and their non-Singer X-Men films, to name a couple) lately...Disney really has not, and there's a greater degree of willingness to invest in films that may not be a hit.
     
  22. TheStorm

    TheStorm Jedi Grand Master star 4

    Registered:
    Apr 8, 2002
    Well I give em X-Men as well. First Class was really good and Days of Future Past looks really really good. But ya I agree Fox is not putting em out like they use to.
     
  23. DarthBoba

    DarthBoba Manager Emeritus star 9 VIP - Former Mod/RSA

    Registered:
    Jun 29, 2000
    First Class and Days of Future Past (and X-men 1 and 2) were Singer products, though. X-Men 3 and Wolverine: Origins weren't.

    Agree about how Fox pretty much ruled the 1980s and 1990s...they had a much, much better creative vision then, both on TV and movies.
     
  24. TCF-1138

    TCF-1138 Anthology/Fan Films/NSA Mod & Ewok Enthusiast star 6 Staff Member Manager

    Registered:
    Sep 20, 2002
    Agreed. When Star Wars was going to start making a parody out of itself (Detours) I felt that the franchise was done for. I felt saddened and started to think about moving on (growing up? [face_plain]). Then the bombshell hit, and well, you're not getting rid of me now ;)
     
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  25. ManaByte

    ManaByte Chosen One star 5

    Registered:
    Aug 20, 1998
    Because Lucas has a long history with Disney. Fox was never an option.


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