Disney buys LucasFilms for $4.05 billion (1 Viewer)

[Carlo_M]

I've been hearing the last few days that Fox still retains all distribution rights to the OT. So Disney doesn't have the ability to release the movies in any form.
Of course, that doesn't mean Fox won't, but if there was a contract preventing them from it, they're still bound by it even with Disney buying the movies.

Regardless of who owns the distribution rights, be it Disney or Fox, I would wager that either one of them would gladly release the OOT! It's been the fact that Lucas, as owner of LFL, has refused to allow them to be released.
Now that Lucas has sold LFL and its assets to Disney, even if Fox owns the rights to distribute the OOT (and that would make sense because I think they paid him a royal sum for them), at least the main force behind refusing to release the OOT has been removed from the equation.

 

[Radioman970]

It's gonna be fun waiting to see what we get.
I, for one, would buy a huge set of reissued action figures like what came out in the 1980s. They'd need to be exactly the same, not updated in any way. And at 46...I'd play with em.

 

[Pete-D]

Regardless of who owns the distribution rights, be it Disney or Fox, I would wager that either one of them would gladly release the OOT! It's been the fact that Lucas, as owner of LFL, has refused to allow them to be released.
Now that Lucas has sold LFL and its assets to Disney, even if Fox owns the rights to distribute the OOT (and that would make sense because I think they paid him a royal sum for them), at least the main force behind refusing to release the OOT has been removed from the equation.

It wouldn't really surprise me if Lucas put a clause in the deal that the originals can't be released without his consent, lol.
That said, they already did release the originals on DVD for a time, so Lucas already went back on his "never, ever release the originals again".
My guess is the hold up is actually that Lucas didn't want to pony up the dollars to restore the originals as it would cost a pretty penny probably. If Disney wants to do it, they should be able to.
If you're Disney, having just paid $4 billion, I'm assuming they at least want prints of the originals, or the closest to the original source they can get.

 

[Jason Charlton]

Originally Posted by Radioman970 /t/324825/disney-buys-lucasfilms-for-4-05-billion/150#post_3996633
It's gonna be fun waiting to see what we get.
I, for one, would buy a huge set of reissued action figures like what came out in the 1980s. They'd need to be exactly the same, not updated in any way. And at 46...I'd play with em.

I have passed my classic action figures (along with the Darth Vader carrying case) down to my boys and they (and I) LOVE playing with them. In particular, they love to play "trash compactor" and stuff them into an old, wooden mailbox toy.

I think a breath of fresh air (even if it comes from Disney) is a good thing for the Star Wars franchise, and much better than letting it continue to founder and whither away to nothing with Lucas.

I'm intrigued to see what the future holds.

 

[TravisR]

It's gonna be fun waiting to see what we get.
I, for one, would buy a huge set of reissued action figures like what came out in the 1980s. They'd need to be exactly the same, not updated in any way. And at 46...I'd play with em.

Good news: Gentle Giant has already been releasing reproductions of the old Kenner action figures as 12 inch toys for the last couple of years. They scale the original 4 inch figure up to 12 inches and reproduce it exactly (except that it's now a very large action figure). I've seen one up close and they're like an amazing time machine.
Bad news: They're pretty expensive as you can see here: http://www.gentlegiantltd.com/category_s/80.htm
EDIT: Here's a pic of Boba Fett with a comparison of the original and 12 inch.

 

[Steve_Tk]

At the end of the day, the originals are still great. If the new movies suck, then we don't have to watch them anymore. The creation of new movies does not mean you can't still enjoy the old ones. That's the attitude I'm taking anyway.
As this is coming from someone that saw TPM at midnight, AOTC at midnight, and completely skipped the last one in the theater because I had lost faith. I'll wait and see what direction they take. If it's Star Wars Meets Taylor Lautner-esque crap then I'll just skip them all together. It's not the end of the world if they make bad movies. Bad movies come out every weekend!

 

[Radioman970]

I have passed my classic action figures (along with the Darth Vader carrying case) down to my boys and they (and I) LOVE playing with them. In particular, they love to play "trash compactor" and stuff them into an old, wooden mailbox toy.
I think a breath of fresh air (even if it comes from Disney) is a good thing for the Star Wars franchise, and much better than letting it continue to founder and whither away to nothing with Lucas.
I'm intrigued to see what the future holds.

I think I gave some of mine to my nephew. But I have a few around I think... I had Darth's Tie Fighter, Luke's Landspeeder, and a full size Han Solo gun... @ "breath", can't agree more. And talk about wallowing in nostalgia, all these reissued and listed in a Sears Christmas catalog would be the ultimate. All my troubles would melt -the hell- away! Not sure if kids of today would "get" that Sears catalog, but to heck with them! lol

Good news: Gentle Giant has already been releasing reproductions of the old Kenner action figures as 12 inch toys for the last couple of years. They scale the original 4 inch figure up to 12 inches and reproduce it exactly (except that it's now a very large action figure). I've seen one up close and they're like an amazing time machine.
Bad news: They're pretty expensive as you can see here: http://www.gentlegiantltd.com/category_s/80.htm
EDIT: Here's a pic of Boba Fett with a comparison of the original and 12 inch.

Holy Toledo are those neat! Funny you should mention the Boba Fett, I think that was my first one. And there was a deal where you could send in P&H (postage & handling, lol ) and get a free Boba Fett. I remember mom bringing that to me from a magazine or something. Only thing, the missile didn't fire.
I had R2 and my best friend had R5. I always think of my buddy when I see R5. Incidentally, his name was Travis. Ain't that funny...

 

[TravisR]

At the end of the day, the originals are still great. If the new movies suck, then we don't have to watch them anymore. The creation of new movies does not mean you can't still enjoy the old ones. That's the attitude I'm taking anyway.

That's basically how I look at it too. While I thoroughly enjoyed the prequels, they weren't my Star Wars. My SW movies were back when I was a kid and nothing is going to come close to the experience of those movies again. I certainly hope Disney does great things with the movies, comics, novels, etc but if everything they touch is terrible, I'm not going to be all that concerned because I've still got my Star Wars and the fond memories associated with it all.

I had R2 and my best friend had R5. I always think of my buddy when I see R5. Incidentally, his name was Travis. Ain't that funny...

Small world.

 

[Radioman970]

I tell ya... lol
If they can swing a Star Wars like they did with Star Trek I'll be very very happy. May 2013 can't come soon enough. I'd love to get that excited about SW again.

 

[SilverWook]

It wouldn't really surprise me if Lucas put a clause in the deal that the originals can't be released without his consent, lol.
That said, they already did release the originals on DVD for a time, so Lucas already went back on his "never, ever release the originals again".
My guess is the hold up is actually that Lucas didn't want to pony up the dollars to restore the originals as it would cost a pretty penny probably. If Disney wants to do it, they should be able to.
If you're Disney, having just paid $4 billion, I'm assuming they at least want prints of the originals, or the closest to the original source they can get.

Didn't Robert Harris say a while back that an OT restoration would not cost all that much? IIRC, George was the only one saying it would be too expensive.

 

[SilverWook]

Good news: Gentle Giant has already been releasing reproductions of the old Kenner action figures as 12 inch toys for the last couple of years. They scale the original 4 inch figure up to 12 inches and reproduce it exactly (except that it's now a very large action figure). I've seen one up close and they're like an amazing time machine.
Bad news: They're pretty expensive as you can see here: http://www.gentlegiantltd.com/category_s/80.htm
EDIT: Here's a pic of Boba Fett with a comparison of the original and 12 inch.

Wow! They made a Blue Snaggletooth, and the Sears exclusive playset it was originally in!
I wonder if they will cover the original Large Size action figure line?

 

[WillG]

http://www.cracked.com/quick-fixes/4-reasons-you-should-be-thrilled-disney-bought-star-wars/

 

[Carlo_M]

Didn't Robert Harris say a while back that an OT restoration would not cost all that much? IIRC, George was the only one saying it would be too expensive.

Yes I think they were coming from different viewpoints though. George may have been thinking about rescuing the original negative, which according to all accounts he has now destroyed. So yes it will be very expensive to undestroy something.
I think RAH and his team could do some amazing work by finding the best surviving elements and using today's digital tools on them, for relatively low cost. I think he's just waiting for someone in a position of authority over the franchise to hire him to do it.

 

[TravisR]

I wonder if they will cover the original Large Size action figure line?

Maybe those ones will be life-size. Those 12 inch repoductions are bit expensive for me (Boba Fett is calling out to me though) and they're so big that they're tough to store or display but I saw one that was on special order at a comic book store and I had the sudden urge to buy every one. It sounds crazy but if you grew up playing with the Kenner Star Wars toys, you'll be impressed and amazed by seeing the repros in person.

 

[SilverWook]

Carrie Fisher did use a life size statue of Leia in her one woman show. So super size action figures seem plausible.

 

[FoxyMulder]

Originally Posted by SilverWook /t/324825/disney-buys-lucasfilms-for-4-05-billion/180#post_3996835
Didn't Robert Harris say a while back that an OT restoration would not cost all that much? IIRC, George was the only one saying it would be too expensive.

It doesn't matter, nothing will be done immediately and Fox own the rights to the original Star Wars forever more and to the five others until 2020, they might cash in and release the originals and prequels a few more times before they lose the rights to them but the original film is their property forever.

 

[Lord Dalek]

Fox may have the rights to the films (for the moment, I suspect News Corp. will sell out for the international rights to the next trilogy) but they do not have the rights to the characters likenesses and that's where things get complicated as far as royalties go.

 

[JonZ]

LOl @ that 12 inch Boba Fett.

Heres something you guys might enjoy that includes that toy. I loved the pilot and really wished this went to series.

pt1

pt2

pt3

 

[Brandon Conway]

Originally Posted by Lord Dalek /t/324825/disney-buys-lucasfilms-for-4-05-billion/180#post_3997170
Fox may have the rights to the films (for the moment, I suspect News Corp. will sell out for the international rights to the next trilogy) but they do not have the rights to the characters likenesses and that's where things get complicated as far as royalties go.

Plus, I'm pretty sure Lucasfilm owns the actual film elements. Fox has distribution rights, not film ownership.

 

[Lord Dalek]

Originally Posted by Brandon Conway /t/324825/disney-buys-lucasfilms-for-4-05-billion/180#post_3997279

Plus, I'm pretty sure Lucasfilm owns the actual film elements. Fox has distribution rights, not film ownership.

Yeah which explains how the oneg for Star Wars (the pre-episode IV version) got junked in 1996.