Wednesday, October 31, 2012

Mouse Jedi


The latest news of Disney acquiring George Lucas’ properties for about US$4B is a definitely a “Red Bull” moment for the Mouse. This deal comes with Lucasfilm, Industrial Light and Magic aka “ILM – I Love Money”, Skywalker Sound, the Star Wars Franchise, Indiana Jones Franchise, etc. All of these for that amount of money in these days are just a bargain that any other studios would love to top Disney if they were offered the chance to without question.

You can say that it is a deal that both sides really want. George Lucas is in his seventies, should retire at least from running businesses (though it is highly profitable) that he own. So, selling the baggage seems reasonable. Reportedly he will still be involved at the high level of the new Star Wars movie is a blessing of transition. This old man has done more than enough for the franchise and it is great to let other younger creative genius to ‘mess’ around the Star Wars Universe from now on. It is definitely critical to keep this treasure alive and develop for generations to come, just see how different people have taken James Bond to all these years!

On the other hand, Disney is definitely doing quite well since it is under Bob Iger back in 2005 when the studio was in a hole in terms of creativity. Back then, their animations were disappointing, movie side was just so-so comparing with its peers. The US$7B acquisition of Pixar saved the company, and the 2008 acquisition of Marvel was definitely a genius move. The Pixar movies and the Avengers are just power shots that rejuvenated their film properties as well as other auxillary businesses. Now, with Lucasfilm, what a surprisingly wise business move that just makes so much sense to their future. The acquisition is so compatible to Disney’s current business, it is just a no-brainer. Cuz, Disney gets not just the Star Wars universe but also the technical sides of the acquisitions which are just top notch in the world.

Yes, film business does gamble, however, with some valid proven cash cows, it helps the studio to gamble in taking creative risks. At least on paper, that’s true! I think Disney is now kinda unbeatable in terms of the reservoir of fantasy that it owns and can play with. They are gonna make the money back in no time, given the world audiences have the need to escape from the crude reality in today’s world. $$$ all for Disney!

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