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Disney is the new home of "Star Wars" with new movie to come
Published: 10/30/2012 4:37 PM
Last Modified: 10/30/2012 4:37 PM

Chewbacca, Luke Skywalker, Obi Wan-Kenobi and Han Solo are now working for Disney.

Darth Vader, Luke Skywalker and Han Solo are now working for Disney.

With the announcement by Disney on Wednesday that it was buying the world of "Star Wars" from George Lucas and was planning future films -- with the first set for 2015 -- much of the talk will center around where the series picks up with a seventh movie.

When will it be set? Will it follow the chronology, which means events after "The Return of the Jedi," released in 1983? If not Lucas, whose mythology will we be following?

All are intriguing questions to be answered in the next couple of years. What is arguably just as interesting is Disney's latest major purchase.

When my family visited Disney World this summer for the first time, we rode the "Star Tours" ride, based on a "Star Wars" space shuttle ride taking guests on a 3-D tourist trip to the ice planet of Hoth.

Sitting a few feet from an animatronic C-3PO and R2-D2 on this adventure, the movie-critic part of my brain wondered about the relationship between Disney and George Lucas.

His movies were all released by Twentieth Century Fox, but as a businessman he clearly realized that the Disney brand is a great marketing opportunity for the lucrative merchandising end of his space saga.

When Disney agreed on Tuesday to spend $4.05 billion to buy Lucasfilm Ltd., it made all the sense in the moviegoing world as well as the Disney World.

Disney spent $7.4 billion in 2006 to buy Pixar and brought Buzz Lightyear, Nemo and all their animated friends to the Mouse House. The move returned Disney's status to that of undisputed king of animated films.

In 2009, Disney spent $4 billion to purchase Marvel Entertainment, and with the success of films like "The Avengers" (the No. 1 movie of 2012 with $1.5 billion-plus at the worldwide box-office) and more to come, that bet looks to be paying off as well.

Disney was already cornering the market on young children as well as teen moviegoers with those moves, and the "Star Wars" purchase solidifies their standing in the market, especially with concern to merchandising.

The figures announced a few years ago remain astounding, and they bear repeating: "Star Wars" movies have grossed $4.4 billion in their lifetime; home entertainment for the series has seen revenues of $3.8 billion; toys and merchandising rights have accounted for $20 billion.

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I See Movies for Free

“I was born a poor, black child” … not me, actually, but Steve Martin’s character in the “The Jerk.” That absurd opening line is just one of the absurd number of film facts, quotes and minutiae contained in movie critic Michael Smith’s brain, at his disposal to toss out on a moment’s notice. It’s a key requirement as Tulsa World film critic to know these things. Michael learned a few other life facts along the way (seven years as a Crystal’s Pizza & Spaghetti manager) before attempting journalism and joining the Tulsa World in 1996, where he’s covered everything from a school shooting in Fort Gibson to a tornado in Stroud to witnessing an execution. A little community theater coverage was sprinkled in there, too. Movies engender many of his happiest memories, from standing in line for “Star Wars” and “Grease” at the Southroads Cinema to the James Bond and Pink Panther movies that always premiered at the enormous Continental Theater.

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Past Articles By Michael Smith

2/16/2013		Broken Arrow movie theater moves to discount showings
2/15/2013		Review: 'Amour'
2/15/2013		Review: 'A Good Day to Die Hard'
2/15/2013		Review: 'Beautiful Creatures'
2/14/2013		Review: 'Quartet'
2/14/2013		Shirley MacLaine to speak at Osage Casino
2/14/2013		Weekly rewind: February 14
2/14/2013		REVIEW: 'Beautiful Creatures'
2/12/2013		Belgian best picture hopeful 'Amour' opens in Tulsa on Friday
2/10/2013		'Die Hard' marathon at AMC Southroads on Wednesday ends with new film
2/9/2013		Review: 'Identity Thief' a stupid movie from stupid idea
2/8/2013		Oscar audit: Critics choices for best picture hold up over time

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