Darth Vader vs. Harry Potter

Originally Posted By leemac

<<Through the history of his franchise, he's shown the desire to whore it out as much as possible.>>

I've seen others write that too - I'm not sure I agree. Sure he has tinkered with the originals and has been responsible for the poor prequels - but he is very protective of those franchises. He could have easily just continued to churn out movies, TV shows, direct-to-DVD product etc. and he hasn't. Indy has also been well-protected.

There is little doubt that he loves his creations. It is just a shame that he is a very average writer and movie-maker - he should have trusted others to make the prequels. He is way too close to average movie-makers like Rick McCallum too.

 

Originally Posted By HokieSkipper

I was more talking about merchandising, Leemac, not necessarily film/tv projects.

Everything under the sun has a "Star Wars" version of it.

 

Originally Posted By leemac

^^ Gotcha - but Lucas follows the Disney handbook with his merchandising. I don't think I've ever seen anything that I'd say was inappropriate.

Only thing with the Star Wars brands that I always find strange is the advertising licensing - seeing characters like Yoda and Vader hawking other brands/retailers etc. is always a little odd. Lucasfilm has done that a lot outside the US too. Yoda peddling cell phones for Vodafone is a particularly odd choice.

 

Originally Posted By leobloom

Inappropriate is in the eye of the beholder.

<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lg_FoEy8T_A" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v...FoEy8T_A</a>

Is that inappropriate? Maybe not.

Is it embarrassingly lame? Absolutely.

 

Originally Posted By A Happy Haunt

Mos Isley!! Let's Party!!

 

Originally Posted By Dr Hans Reinhardt

"Today franchises in theme parks are more valuable than the experience. Marketing needs something to push out there and the success of Cars Land and HP means it is a lot easier to market those experiences to guests. It is far harder to do that."

Well Of course, but if the results are lame (Monsters, Inc. Mike & Sulley to the Rescue!, Winnie the Pooh, Luigi's Tires, and Finding Nemo Subs come to mind) then all the hype is meaningless.

 

Originally Posted By HokieSkipper

Also, Leo, Star Wars Detours:

<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-yRNXFhboBI" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v...NXFhboBI</a>

Ugh.

 

Originally Posted By leemac

<<Well Of course, but if the results are lame (Monsters, Inc. Mike & Sulley to the Rescue!, Winnie the Pooh, Luigi's Tires, and Finding Nemo Subs come to mind) then all the hype is meaningless.>>

Completely different scale to Cars Land though - MIR&GS! and WTP were $30m, Luigi's was expensive though - FNSV was very expensive but is still a popular attraction. It was the marketing hook for that summer.

 

Originally Posted By Dr Hans Reinhardt

"It was the marketing hook for that summer."

Right, but in the long run they are duds, which was my point. I get the marketing angle, but "classic" attractions need more than a season-long marketing hook to have longevity. A strong movie franchise may be a good way to attract visitors but they're only going to keep coming back if the experience is unique or exceptional.

 

Originally Posted By DDMAN26

Not saying I want this but it seems the only thing we didn't get from Lucas was a Star Wars musical. Lee do you think Disney Theatrical would ever give a crack at it?

 

Originally Posted By ImTempest

I wanna ride in a pod racer! I wanna ride in a pod racer! And I mean a real one - not the simulator!

 

Originally Posted By leemac

<<Lee do you think Disney Theatrical would ever give a crack at it?>>

I'm sure it will be looked at. I never thought I'd see a Marvel musical but Spider-Man is still there - even if it is barely breaking even.

I can't see it ever happening for Star Wars but who knows......

There may be a better opportunity for a family-orientated arena show - like Walking with Dinosaurs or any of the Feld-owned Disney on Ice shows. That might work although a lot of those arena tours aren't performing as well at the moment - Ice Age and How To Train Your Dragon are struggling to sell seats to cash-strapped families.

 

Originally Posted By leobloom

I'd forgotten about the Detours show, Hokie. Yes. Awful, awful stuff.

One would hope that that kind of thing would end with SW being taken out of Lucas's hands.

But Disney also has a Mickey doll that breakdances, so...

 

Originally Posted By leemac

Any worse than this?

<a href="http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/heat-vision/disney-promotes-lucasfilm-deal-ad-384856" target="_blank">http://www.hollywoodreporter.c...d-384856</a>

 

Originally Posted By u k fan

We already had "Luke Be A Jedi Tonight" on The Simpsons!!!

 

Originally Posted By WilliamK99

That video was awesome...seriously plus it was filmed last year for Star Tours opening, Disney just added the beginning text...

 

Originally Posted By leobloom

Irony isn't as funny as it used to be.

 

Originally Posted By fkurucz

>>They've already announced Episode VII is coming out in 2015.<<

Interesting. I hope they're better than the horrible prequel trilogy.

 

Originally Posted By tashajilek

"Darth Vader vs. Harry Potter"

At first i thought the OP meant who would win in a fight LOL. Darth Vader would win of course.

 

Originally Posted By Kennesaw Tom

In terms of a musical. There is Star Wars in Concert!

<a href="http://www.starwarsinconcert.com/" target="_blank">http://www.starwarsinconcert.com/</a>