Saga Disney buying Lucasfilm????? Star Wars goes on?

I agree, if they're going to make new movies (but hopefully just the ST and that's it), they should connect together with the PT and OT just as well. They don't need to bring back dead characters or rehash used plotlines to do that. If they do a good job, it should keep you busy in your Visual Links thread.

 

ha, yeah. I somehow think that aspect might be exclusive to the Lucas-made films though. It seems like a very subconscious thing, and it is likely that another creator won't think this way about the existing six movies. I'm sure it will be interesting nonetheless.

 

Wow I can't believe this thread isn't 1,000 pgs long by now!! Must be the Hurricane Sandy effect (just got power back a few hours ago myself, btw).

Well, I have been a SW fan since 1977. I've been on these boards since 1999, under various names (for some reason I just can't seem to hold on to a moniker around here!) most recently as "Eternal_Hero".

I'm pretty shocked but coming to grips.

#1. I am a George Lucas fan first, a SW fan second. Does this mean we'll get to see those "experimental" films he's always talked about? That's good news. Congrats on your retirement GL...that's a heckuva pension!!

#2. I don't like the Disney company; but at the end of the day they bought Lucasfilm, LFL still exists, GL is still alive, Kathleen Kennedy has a good taste, and Dave Filoni's been groomed to carry the torch. A little sugar to coat the pill.

#3. I hope this doesn't put an end to the Darkhorse, Bantam/Del Rey continuities, however mixed up parts of them have become. I am a loyal DH Star Wars fan since "Dark Empire" and "Tales of the Jedi". I'd hate to see them shafted. Their work has just been too good.

It's a lot to absorb. Like Santa Claus selling Christmas.

But the man's been warning us for years. Now it is reality.

 

I knew this would happen. There will be an influx of idiots. This is the end of visionary/experimental SW cinema. But give it time, I think this will be the beginning of a turn-around in appreciation of GL's work. Especially if he starts making brilliant personal films.

 

There will definitely be an influx of idiots, but I'm a little confused by the thought process of those that feel that way. If they hated the PT and resent Lucas for making it, I assume part of the reason for that is that they think he should have left SW alone as just the OT (as far as the movies go). So wouldn't the creation of even more SW movies just make them even more irritated? Or maybe it's Lucas himself that they've decided they can't stand (even though he created the whole thing to begin with), and they're only happy because he won't be as in control of it this time (in that case, they seem to miss the part about him having provided storylines, and his being there for Kennedy as her "Yoda" and as a creative consultant in general).

 

This is pretty much the crux of the issue. There are reams of fanboys/fangirls who hate GL but think SW could be "cool" if he wasn't involved. Of course, for many of us, GL is what *makes* SW interesting and cool, because he's different & unpredictable. It's called "schadenfreude" and we're in for a lot of it over the next 3 yrs. And since Disney will give audiences 100% precisely what they want, the voices insisting that SW is "better" without GL will be deafening.

 

Good points. Someone in another thread said that if the movies are viewed as a success, Disney and Kennedy will get all the credit. If they are viewed as unsuccessful, Lucas will get all the blame. Sad.

 

It seems more nuanced than that to me. Many people who love SW grew up on the OT, myself included, and of the OT the high point was clearly The Empire Strikes Back. Oddly enough, it wasn't even directed by Lucas. Irvin Kershner did an amazing job smoothing over the stiff writing of Lucas, and directed the cast in a way that Lucas never could.

And that set the tone for everything to come after. How dare someone step in and do Star Wars better than me. Never again.....never again.

Criticism about Lucas predate the PT, the first glimpse we saw of a fan backlash was with the Return of the Jedi. But it kinda ended there, mostly because Lucas set it aside and let SW be SW, he didn't change or edit his films for a long while. It was the constant reedits and The Phantom Menace that aroused the ire of his dedicated fan base once again.

Lucas makes films for himself, that is fine, I have no problem with that. In fact I really enjoy the PT, even if there are parts of it that I find annoying (mostly Jake Lloyd and Jar Jar) but overall I thought it was great to see more Star Wars films. But he also makes films for others, and long ago he seemed to have made the decision that the he wasn't going to listen to the feedback of his fans (he openly stated this) and instead pandered to corporate Hollywood (which once upon a time he hated, but now had embraced it and become its greatest success story) and the merchandising opportunities before him.

Look at Harry Potter for example. Did Rowling try to adapt her books to film? No, she let someone who was better do it. Did she try to direct the films? No, she let someone who was better do it. Lucas was the visionary of Star Wars, much like Rowling is the visionary of HP. The difference is that Rowling knew the limits of her ability, while from the very start Lucas seemed to be trying to prove a point to everyone and kept a firm grip around his creation, and every time someone suggested that he wasn't doing something that the fans would love or that someone might be able to do the films better justice he tightened his grip even more.

"The more you tighten your grip, Tarkin, the more star systems will slip through your fingers."

That seems to have been true with fans as well. But even then Lucas seems to have missed something, yes there was some die hard fans complaining....but millions offered nothing but praise and loved his films......and even those who did complain still watched them, probably more than once.

Even his haters, in the midst of their whining, still flocked to see his films.

I have done a lot of reading over the past few days, and looked at articles offering up opinions on both sides of the fence. The fact is, Lucas was done with SW, he never wanted to make another movie. He has stated that he didn't even want to direct another one as far back as ESB (that is the reason he let Kershner do ESB in the first place), and he did 4 more after that. Star Wars was saved by this sale, but not in the way you guys are suggesting. It was saved because we get to see more of it, not because Lucas is out of the picture....he really isn't. He just isn't directing or writing the films any more, which he himself admits to not enjoying or being good at (he referred to himself as the king of wooden writing and there is a famous argument between Lucas and Harrison Ford about how hard his writing is to act out). He gets to put in creative advice, the father of Star Wars is still there and thankfully so. But I am also thankful that he decided to let better writers write, and better directors direct.

Most of all I am thankful that he allowed the movies to go on, without the sale to Disney there would be no more movies.....so yes, the sale saved Star Wars and I am happy and optimistic about it.

 

Lucas will long be remebered as a true film visionary, especially behind the camera with the founding of ILM, theatrical sound, and film sound mixing.

But he got tired of being a CEO. Who can blame him? He did it very well for 3 decades.

But the fact he let SW live on without his tight control is a very generous gift to fans on his part that cannot be overlooked.

For that I am forever grateful as a fan.

Thanks George.

 

I didn't know Star Wars needed to be saved. The PT was just as good as the OT & The OT was just as bad as the PT. People see what they wanna see. People who talk with their keyboards is one thing, but the people who talk with their feet & wallet is who Disney needs to watch.

 

I don't know, in the past week we went from a rock solid 0% possibility of ever seeing a new SW film on the big screen to a 100% chance of seeing one in 2015. The film aspect of SW was dead, never to be seen again. To me, a fan who will always pay to see another live action SW film (regardless of who writes and directs it), the film franchise needed saving....and that is exactly what happened.

Glad Lucas and Disney could make something work. ShaneP is dead on, Lucas gave his fans a very generous gift and made a smart and profitable business move that saved the future of the SW film franchise.

 

Sorry for the double post, but witness the generosity of George Lucas.

http://www.forbes.com/sites/brianso...-george-lucas-one-of-the-biggest-givers-ever/

After giving SW fans a huge gift, he follows up with an even greater gift to the world.