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Disney to Acquire Lucasfilm Ltd.

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81–90 of 301 posts

Re: Disney to Acquire Lucasfilm Ltd.

#81
post #31

Wonder if they'll get a seasoned director for Star Wars 7, or if they'll go with a controllable newcomer like Sony did with Amazing Spider Man.

Joss Whedon has been known to take home from the Disney offices large sacks with big green dollar signs printed upon them.

Re: Disney to Acquire Lucasfilm Ltd.

#83
post #37

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Therefore, it should be noted that they directly, or via tacit gatekeeping, have a huge amount of influence on our public dialog and cultural messaging.

Marvel, Pixar, LucasArts, ABC, ESPN, A+E, Disney Channel, and associated merchandising. I'm not sure how much "control" over our "public dialog" this really implies. I'm the parent of two very normal middle aged children and, while they're certainly exposed to some of this IP, I'd contest that it has much "influence" over them. Google has much more control over our public dialog than Disney does.

Google doesn't teach your kids the narrative structure against which they measure their own lives.

Re: Disney to Acquire Lucasfilm Ltd.

#84
post #42

Earlier quoted context omitted.

How does it do that? Disney has had a reasonably friendly relationship with Apple due to Steve's presence on both boards. Now that he's gone that might weaken, but he had a long time to win hearts and minds over there.

Simple: Because the strategy is to keep Apple out of the content biz, as owners. It keeps Apple as a customer , while the TV/Cable's themselves vertically integrate. This sets up the Tv/Cable-co's to to extract rents. Now Disney a Pixar, Lucas ESPN, et al; Comcast Universal & NBC. This Apple TV?...etc.

I seriously doubt that Apple wants to be in the content biz any more than they already are with their first party apps. I'd guess Steve was fairly cognizant of the fact that the decline of Sony was directly related to their media acquisitions in the late 80's. When the media people get seats at the big table you develop an institutional hostility to the sorts of disruptive devices that Apple wants to build and Sony used to. Instead you get things like Ultraviolet, rootkits and the George Hotz fiasco.

Re: Disney to Acquire Lucasfilm Ltd.

#85
post #58
post #48

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yet it would seem that Disney has a lot more to lose if IP laws are not kept in their favor, as evidenced by the Life+70 copyright extension they were able to successfully lobby into existence. Google and Disney clearly have two very different set of influences, but to imply that Disney has little control is simply wrong. Ultimately the buck stops with our various representatives, but Disney has some serious skin in…

I think this is orthogonal to the argument that I responded to upthread. The idea I responded to is that by rolling up so much of our popular culture, Disney has reached a point where it bears some kind of responsibility for vouchsafing our culture. Strong disagree: just like buying OMGPOP didn't reward Zynga with a mortal lock on the market for iPhone games, buying up the most popular media properties won't reward D…

Would you be comfortable if Murdoch managed to get his hands on this cultural keiretsu?

Re: Disney to Acquire Lucasfilm Ltd.

#86

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Let's not forget they paid that 7 billion in 2006. I can almost see this as Disney trying to replace the eye for talent and negotiating power they lost in Steve Jobs' passing, along with an amazing IP acquisition. Edit: Thought of better terms than "creative force".

Steve Jobs wasn't ever really a "creative force" at Disney.

Probably the wrong choice of words. He did help bring in a lot of creative people, however. I'm just wondering if this will follow the same line of thinking - there's quite a lot of talented people who work for the Lucas properties.

Re: Disney to Acquire Lucasfilm Ltd.

#87

It means they bought LucasArts too. Not that LucasArts were great in the last decade or so but Disney sucks as a "parent" for game dev companies (RIP Blackrock).

LucasArts hasn't existed in any real capacity for the last five years or so anyway, they've just been a licensing house. At least under Disney there is the possibility of finding some talent (unlikely, but possible).

Re: Disney to Acquire Lucasfilm Ltd.

#88

Star Wars Episode 7 will come out in 2015. They also acquired all of the assets including Indiana Jones, Star Wars, ILM, LucasArts and Skywalker Sound

I feel a great disturbance in the force, as if... Sigh. I can't even make the joke. I fear the Jarjification of all I held dear as a child. Sad panda.

"Help me noonespecial. You're my only hope."

Re: Disney to Acquire Lucasfilm Ltd.

#89
post #58

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think this is orthogonal to the argument that I responded to upthread. The idea I responded to is that by rolling up so much of our popular culture, Disney has reached a point where it bears some kind of responsibility for vouchsafing our culture. Strong disagree: just like buying OMGPOP didn't reward Zynga with a mortal lock on the market for iPhone games, buying up the most popular media properties won't reward D…

Would you be comfortable if Murdoch managed to get his hands on this cultural keiretsu?

I would not care, because Fox News is already much more influential than Disney is, and would not become that much more so simply by dint of owning some cartoon characters.

Re: Disney to Acquire Lucasfilm Ltd.

#90
post #37

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Marvel, Pixar, LucasArts, ABC, ESPN, A+E, Disney Channel, and associated merchandising. I'm not sure how much "control" over our "public dialog" this really implies. I'm the parent of two very normal middle aged children and, while they're certainly exposed to some of this IP, I'd contest that it has much "influence" over them. Google has much more control over our public dialog than Disney does.

Google doesn't teach your kids the narrative structure against which they measure their own lives.

(a) Neither does Disney, (b) Google controls the Internet, which is scarier.
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