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Disney to Acquire Lucasfilm Ltd.

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Re: Disney to Acquire Lucasfilm Ltd.

#171

Post by [deleted] »

jonnathanson wrote: post #157
robbiet480 wrote: post #7

This means that Disney now controls Marvel, Pixar, LucasArts, ABC, ESPN, A+E, Disney Channel plus all their own original content and of course the parks and merchandising rights for everything stated above. Those businesses most likely control the top 10 film franchises of the last few years. This is a pretty insane acquisition.

Disney has always been a merchandizing company at heart. It understood, and understands, the value of brands better than any other entertainment company on the planet. LucasFilm is the same way; George Lucas has always been a savvy merchandizer. This is not only a good portfolio acquisition for Disney, but also a good cultural match.

[deleted]

Re: Disney to Acquire Lucasfilm Ltd.

#172

Post by mixmastamyk »

Wow, didn't see it coming, but this old comic comes to mind:

http://www.condenaststore.com/-sp/The-Final-Merger-New-Yorke...

On the scripting-side, this should create one of the bigger if not biggest Python house(s). Disney was converting to it when I left (many years ago) and ILM is a known proponent... their whole pipeline from front to back is accessible from it.

Episode 7? First I've heard of it. crosses fingers.

Re: Disney to Acquire Lucasfilm Ltd.

#173

Post by tptacek »

nitrogen wrote: post #165
tptacek wrote: post #98

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yes, I think it's pretty silly to suggest that the average 6 hours of ABC television consumption is providing Disney with much control over our culture. ABC is led by the culture, not the other way around; that's why it (sort of) makes money for Disney. Think about it with an analogy. Google is more valuable than Facebook, despite the huge amount of time people spend engaged with Facebook, because Google's users come…

I think you underestimate the effect of repeated subtle messaging thrown into an otherwise innocuous storyline. If it wasn't effective, Coca Cola wouldn't have paid to have their product barely visible in the background of a scene in War of the Worlds, for example.

I don't estimate it highly, you're right about that. For your specific example, consider some other factors besides the intrinsic effectiveness of ambient product placement:

(a) Coca Cola employs many thousands of marketing people who must, to justify their salary, come up with venues to feature the Coke brand.

(b) Mass marketing is notoriously terrible with metrics, so it's not an extraordinary claim to suggest that maybe Coke is investing in some marketing that doesn't much help it.

(c) Coke's business model has as much to do with its distribution system --- the fact that they can get a Coke into the hands of virtually any person on the planet in minutes --- as it does with its brand.

(d) Copyrights and trademarks mean that motion pictures need to acquire the rights to feature many (in a Spielberg film, perhaps all) of the brands shown on screen, which creates a venue in which major brands like Coke are consulted as a matter of course simply because either they or their competitors need to be shown simply to create verisimilitude.

Re: Disney to Acquire Lucasfilm Ltd.

#174

Post by mariaslickflick »

padobson wrote: post #19

Disney paid $4B for Lucasfilm. Six years ago, they paid $7B for Pixar.[1] Pixar used to be a subsidiary of Lucasfilm. This means that John Lasseter is now going to have control of all of the assets that allowed him to get into making movies in the first place. [1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pixar#Acquisition_by_Disney

pretty low, considering that a movie like Avatar made approx $3 billion in revenues.

Re: Disney to Acquire Lucasfilm Ltd.

#175

Post by afterburner »

philwelch wrote: post #61
afterburner wrote: post #55

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Sarcasm? I can think of one... EDIT: News Corp was what I was thinking.

Really? I'm not being sarcastic at all. Please share. EDIT: Despite Fox News, the Fox network broadcasts left-leaning shows like The Simpsons, Family Guy, and American Dad, which regularly mock Fox News. 20th Century Fox distributes a lot of films without any discernable agenda[1], even backing films like Avatar, or the Wall Street sequel. I'm convinced that News Corporation is entirely mercenary in its agenda and on…

It doesn't matter that not all the properties fall in line with Fox News' agenda. That Fox News has a huge influence is undeniable, and the rest of News Corps news and pundit properties fall in line with that. The entertainment divisions simply put money in the pot.

Re: Disney to Acquire Lucasfilm Ltd.

#177

Post by tptacek »

eric_h wrote: post #168
tptacek wrote: post #141

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Most users of the Internet are dependent on Google to find anything on the Internet.

Nevertheless, you could flip the switch and turn Google off, and people would be able to find things on the internet just fine.

Strong disagree.

Re: Disney to Acquire Lucasfilm Ltd.

#178

Post by btilly »

padobson wrote: post #41
noonespecial wrote: post #15

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

You need to get excited. The creative folk at Pixar and Disney have been killing it in comparison to what's come out of Lucasfilm lately. Watch The Pixar Story (streaming on Netflix: http://movies.netflix.com/WiMovie/The_Pixar_Story/70083532?l... ), and tell me you're not more comfortable with Star Wars in their hands then in Lucas'.

Meh.

Now if they re-release the original Star Wars as it originally appeared without George Lucas' later additions, then I'll get excited.

Re: Disney to Acquire Lucasfilm Ltd.

#179

Post by tptacek »

nitrogen wrote: post #170
tptacek wrote: post #90

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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

So the obsession many young girls have with Disney princesses, sometimes carrying it into adulthood (that makes for some very interesting conversations), has no influence on the narrative structure those girls are using to evaluate their lives?

No. The Disney Princess "narrative" simply fits into preexisting gender norms. There was no "Disney Princess" culture in the 1950s. If you created a chart showing the trendlines of female mobilization into the workforce (and particularly the "professions") and the revenue extracted from Disney Princess offerings, you'd have a concrete reason to question the assumption you're making here.

Re: Disney to Acquire Lucasfilm Ltd.

#180

Post by shriphani »

evolve2k wrote: post #106
tptacek wrote: 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.

I was personally deeply shocked recently, when I sat with my children as they were watching the animated Iron Man series at their grandpas house. This was on Sunday morning TV. The episode was about other 'bad' characters stealing Iron Mans suit. I was alarmed when the dialog turned explicitly to talk of Patents and how evil it was that they were infringing Iron Mans designs. As I continued to watch it dawned on me t…

Kids don't give a shit.
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