What are Your Thoughts on Disney's Ownership of the Marvel And Star Wars Franchises ?

[paeng]

I think they're affected in the same way as many companies that need investor funds from Blackrock and others, i.e., they have to maintain their ESG scores by promoting diversity, etc. That means revising content that may eventually anger viewers, and lead to poor sales.

However, I also believe that at some point asset managers will realize the irrationality of some score criteria and will come up with better measurements for investment performance. In the case of media, that will mean the use of focus groups, which will allow them to understand the sentiments of their viewers.

Even outside that I think such franchises don't have much to offer that's new, and if there's a lot of pressure to develop new projects yearly, they will only end up releasing more of the same. That's why the recent Star Wars movies essentially borrowed from the previous ones (e.g., Death Stars, urchins on desert planets, guidance from elder ones, etc.). It's similar to what happened in other franchises, e.g., protagonists who look like Ripley, the main story line of Mad Max 2 essentially rehashed for the new one, etc.

Add to this the use of not only CGI but even virtual sets, Deepfake technology, impressionists, and so on, and one can essentially make movies using computers and faces of celebrities. Just follow the rules for tent-pole flicks: make the movie as long as possible to justify high ticket prices, use lots of spectacle (essentially images using computers) to make it look expensive and artistic, keep the plot and character development simple so that audiences across many cultures and languages can understand the film (and that's important in order to cover high marketing costs), just use enough sex and violence to tittilate audiences but try not to go outside the PG sweet spot (in order to get teens), use teenage slang and behavior for the same reasons, and so on.

Of course, there's the risk that at some point, viewers will realize that all Marvel and Star Wars movies and even TV shows look basically the same, and will either wait for the movies to come out on streaming, free streaming, or even bargain bins, or subscribe to streaming to binge-watch and then unsubscribe.

 

[paeng]

About that reference to Selleck, I'm reminded of this old but funny mashup:

Maybe they can spice things up for new shows, and mix them with some humor. For example, Andor? (Warning: spoilers)

 

[Swank]

I think they're affected in the same way as many companies that need investor funds from Blackrock and others, i.e., they have to maintain their ESG scores by promoting diversity, etc. That means revising content that may eventually anger viewers, and lead to poor sales.

However, I also believe that at some point asset managers will realize the irrationality of some score criteria and will come up with better measurements for investment performance. In the case of media, that will mean the use of focus groups, which will allow them to understand the sentiments of their viewers.

Do you think it is that hard to have diverse casts that it always looks artificial or insincere?

Most of the bad casting choices I've seen aren't because someone is the wrong demographic, but just the wrong actor.

 

[paranoid marvin]

Because it wasn't the same guy. John Dykstra and Ralph McQuarrie did much of the design work for Star Wars. Lucas was more of a creative manager if we are looking at from a vantage point that examines it in context. Gary Kurtz also had influence on story decisions.
I don't think Lucas really wanted to make Star Wars--I think he was hired to do an FX-oriented film for FOX based on something B-movie related and they decided on Prince Valiant (which had been a FOX film). Lucas appears to have been unenthusiastic to do it--it was a lark to some extent, and he was more interested in the money to be generated in merchandise and theater technology.

We aren't given the real story on these things.
Indiana Jones is the Harry Steele character from Secret of the Incas, given a whip and a more humorous persona. It was a Paramount film too.
That is how the character was created. All the other stuff has to be BS. Has to be. Why would they do all sorts of alleged creative brainstorming sessions and in the end just remake a studio film?
Even the Tom Selleck screen test is weird because Harrison Ford is a deadringer for Charlton Heston in some scenes--maybe it didn't seem so obvious when they were planning it.
Back then technological innovation in FX and stunts etc was the superstar --and then after CGI came along, the brand became the focus.
None of the actors really matter--it is the brand.
The Star Wars Brand
The Indiana Jones brand
The Willow brand.

The Willow brand??

Is there a demand for the Willow brand?
I am not aware of any.

Sorry, I didn't mean that Lucas necessarily came up with the designs or the concept, but that it was his movie. He is credited with being director and writer, and it was produced by his company Lucasfilm. So for me that makes it his film, and the buck stops with him. Both for the good things (original trilogy) and the bad (prequels). I also think that all the tinkering and re-editing (in some ways re-conceptualising) of the original trilogy was down to him. Has any movie been so fundamentally changed to make them worse movies?

I agree that there doesn't seem to have been a great deal of optimism for 'Star Wars' and that one of the primary concerns was to create a vehicle off which to make tons of cash in the merchandising. In this respect Lucas was way ahead of his time.

 

[paeng]

Do you think it is that hard to have diverse casts that it always looks artificial or insincere?

Most of the bad casting choices I've seen aren't because someone is the wrong demographic, but just the wrong actor.

I think the problem involves not actors but writing.

 

[Swank]

I think the problem involves not actors but writing.

You can't write someone more attractive.

 

[BAYLOR]

You can't write someone more attractive.

Nowadays , they can do anything with special effects and de aging

 

[paranoid marvin]

Nowadays , they can do anything with special effects and de aging

Which I'm sure we'll see more of in the coming years. The 'de-aging' in the excellent 'The Irishman' is just a taster of what is to come, even though that was done quite poorly. in Rogue One we saw a (relatively) good recreation of Tarkin (helped by the dark shadows of that scene) , whilst Leia looked a bit weird (probably because she could be seen much more clearly). But as time, technology and practice improve, so will what is achievable.

What I think we are also likely to see, with the improvement of technology, are recreations of some of the late stars of Hollywood. Fancy going to see Bogey in a new detective thriller, or Kirk Douglas or Charlton Heston in a new blockbuster? Maybe even in the music industry with a holographic Elvis? I can well see actors living today agreeing to sell their digital rights away, so that not only does their fame go on for eternity, their descendants will always be taken care of.

 

[BAYLOR]

Which I'm sure we'll see more of in the coming years. The 'de-aging' in the excellent 'The Irishman' is just a taster of what is to come, even though that was done quite poorly. in Rogue One we saw a (relatively) good recreation of Tarkin (helped by the dark shadows of that scene) , whilst Leia looked a bit weird (probably because she could be seen much more clearly). But as time, technology and practice improve, so will what is achievable.

What I think we are also likely to see, with the improvement of technology, are recreations of some of the late stars of Hollywood. Fancy going to see Bogey in a new detective thriller, or Kirk Douglas or Charlton Heston in a new blockbuster? Maybe even in the music industry with a holographic Elvis? I can well see actors living today agreeing to sell their digital rights away, so that not only does their fame go on for eternity, their descendants will always be taken care of.

Id like to see a film with John Wayne and Charlton Heston together which almost happened with the film The Alamo Or, Wayne and Gary Cooper in their career they were never in any film together.

 

[paranoid marvin]

Id like to see a film with John Wayne and Charlton Heston together which almost happened with the film The Alamo Or, Wayne and Gary Cooper in their career they were never in any film together.

John Wayne is another good example of a Hollywood star who - given time - could accurately be recreated in a movie.

From a production company's point of view it makes perfect sense. Actors who always turn up on time, never fluff their lines, aren't high maintenance, and don't need stunt doubles. I wonder what Peter Cushing would have thought about being 'resurrected' to appear in Rogue One?

 

[BAYLOR]

John Wayne is another good example of a Hollywood star who - given time - could accurately be recreated in a movie.

From a production company's point of view it makes perfect sense. Actors who always turn up on time, never fluff their lines, aren't high maintenance, and don't need stunt doubles. I wonder what Peter Cushing would have thought about being 'resurrected' to appear in Rogue One?

I think Peter Cushing would've been flattered to have gotten an extend presence in the Star Wars universe.

 

[Vince W]

I think Peter Cushing would've been flattered to have gotten an extend presence in the Star Wars universe.

Given Peter Cushing's extensive work in occult type films are we quite certain that it wasn't Peter Cushing.

 

[paranoid marvin]

I think Peter Cushing would've been flattered to have gotten an extend presence in the Star Wars universe.

Although his face is a little CGI'd, the voice is spot on. I think I would have preferred it though if he had kept his back to the screen, and that we had just seen his face reflected in the glass. Also there must surely have been some edits/cuts from the orinal movie that could have been used instead.

But I think that we were being treated here, and with movies like 'The Irishman' as a glimpse of what will - not may - come. Which in some respect is a shame for the would-be acting stars of the future. Easier, cheaper and potentially much more lucrative to use 'known' stars rather than budding actors.

 

[paranoid marvin]

Given Peter Cushing's extensive work in occult type films are we quite certain that it wasn't Peter Cushing.

When I first watched it at the movies, I had to double take. I knew nothing about the film before going to watch it, so had no idea they were using CGI to recreate his image. My first thought was 'that's a perfect double' to 'what a great piece of editing' to final realisation it was computer generated. Given the scene was brief and in relative darkness , it was still mighty impressive for a technology still in its infancy.

 

[Vince W]

When I first watched it at the movies, I had to double take. I knew nothing about the film before going to watch it, so had no idea they were using CGI to recreate his image. My first thought was 'that's a perfect double' to 'what a great piece of editing' to final realisation it was computer generated. Given the scene was brief and in relative darkness , it was still mighty impressive for a technology still in its infancy.

Wait until the porn industry takes ahold of it.

 

[BAYLOR]

When I first watched it at the movies, I had to double take. I knew nothing about the film before going to watch it, so had no idea they were using CGI to recreate his image. My first thought was 'that's a perfect double' to 'what a great piece of editing' to final realisation it was computer generated. Given the scene was brief and in relative darkness , it was still mighty impressive for a technology still in its infancy.

It was good to see Peter Cushing onscreen again.

 

[Vladd67]

Wait until the porn industry takes ahold of it.

Now there's a law suit waiting to happen.

 

[BAYLOR]

Now there's a law suit waiting to happen.

The resulting legal tangle will be of Biblical proportions.

 

[paranoid marvin]

It was good to see Peter Cushing onscreen again.

He was in a lot of B and C rated movies, but always treated them seriously and gave an A rated performance.

 

[BAYLOR]

He was in a lot of B and C rated movies, but always treated them seriously and gave an A rated performance.

He was a terrific actor , one of the very best.