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Tag Archives: Lucasfilm
Disney Closes LucasArts Studio
Today, the Walt Disney Company laid off the staff of LucasArts and cancelled all of their current projects. Approximately one-hundred fifty staff members were informed of the decision this morning and lost their jobs. This decision also forces the company to cancel both of LucasArts current projects- Star Wars: First Assault and Star Wars 1313. The Walt Disney Company is keeping the LucasArts name to license games, but the studio will no longer exist.
Disney has reported that their current games could be licensed out to a different publisher or developer, but according to some sources, that’s unlikely. Rumor has it that Lucas has pursued the option for one or both of these games, but nothing came of it. It appears that these games will probably be gone forever.
“After evaluating our position in the games market, we’ve decided to shift LucasArts from an internal development to a licensing model, minimizing the company’s risk while achieving a broader portfolio of quality Star Wars games,” LucasArts parent company LucasFilm said in a statement. “As a result of this change, we’ve had layoffs across the organization. We are incredibly appreciative and proud of the talented teams who have been developing our new titles.”
LucasArts actually stopped all hiring last September and product announcements also ceased at this time. LucasFilm is still in business though and this decision should not affect any of the Star Wars movies in the makings.
What do you think will happen with the LucasArts projects? Do you think they will be licensed out to another publisher?
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Is This the End for Star Wars: The Clone Wars Animated Series?
The cast of Star Wars: The Clone Wars
There has been a lot of internet buzz regarding the future of ”Star Wars: The Clone Wars” animated series since Cartoon Network aired the season finale last week. Rumors of the show’s cancellation ran wild while others speculated an announcement from Disney about the move to one of its channels. Today we know that Lucasfilm animation is “moving in another direction.” While not specific, it does sound as if there are no immediate plans to have season six on broadcast television.
We do know that various voice actors as we as supervising director Dave Filoni have gone on record working on season six and beyond. In the video clip below Filoni says, “Even though we are winding things down on Star Wars: The Clone Wars, it’s not over yet. In fact the best is yet to come!” This is good news.
Return of the Princess – Carrie Fisher on Princess Leia in Star Wars Episode VII
Star Wars news seems to be breaking on a daily basis which is a great thing! Original trilogy actors have been doing a lot of press answering questions regarding their possible involvement in Star Wars Episode VII. Mark Hamill, Harrison Ford and Billy Dee Williams have mentioned wanting to return to a galaxy far, far away. Now we can add Carrie Fisher to the “Ep. 7″ buzz. Here’s an excerpt from a recent Palm Beach Illustrated interview with the galactic princess.
Q: “Disney is going to continue the ‘Star Wars’ saga, producing movies set to hit theaters starting in 2015. Can you confirm whether you’ll reprise the role of Princess Leia?”
A: “Yes.”
Q: “What do you think Princess Leia is like today?”
A: “Elderly. She’s in an intergalactic old folks’ home [laughs]. I just think she would be just like she was before, only slower and less inclined to be up for the big battle.”
As soon as the story broke Fisher’s representative fired off saying “nothing has been confirmed” and she was just “joking.” Notice my use of quotations. I think Lucasfilm/Disney is doing a great thing by letting these things leak as it builds anticipation for a 2015 release. I suspect that we will be hearing from Billy Dee Williams and Mark Hamill over the next few months to stoke the flames.
Related articles
- Carrie Fisher as Princess Leia in Star Wars Episode VII – Not So Fast (jedimouseketeer.com)
BSkyB To Launch Sky Movies Disney
Satellite broadcaster BSkyB ( or ‘Sky’) has announced the creation of a new TV channel just for Disney and Pixar fans. The channel, which is available in the UK and Ireland, is expected to launch on March 28.
Sky Movies Disney will feature both classic movies from Disney and Pixar on the dedicated film channel. This new channel will be in addition to the existing Disney Channel, also available for subscription via Sky and other cable/satellite operators.
Sky Movies Disney will represent the first time that Disney has launched a co-branded linear (non-catchup/on-demand) movie channel anywhere. No only will Disney’s catalog be available on the Sky Movies Disney channel, but will also be available on-demand through Sky Go, which includes viewing on smartphones, tablets and computers.
The Walt Disney Company has been very busy with it’s movie and television department. In December Disney inked a deal with Netflix giving them access to Disney’s first-run films starting in 2016. Disney also acquired Lucasfilm last last year as well.
Makes me wish I lived across the pond!
Whether Tara is helping people make a memory with a trip to Disney (or anywhere else for that matter) or she is helping to write all the news and gossip to keep you in the know! She also has a brand new facebook page for even more tidbits on Disney and travel, so visit her at Magical Memories and the Mouse.
Related articles
- BSkyB Is Launching Its Own Disney Network (businessinsider.com)
- Sky Movies Disney: new channel to show UK TV film premieres (guardian.co.uk)
Bob Iger Talks to CNBC About ESPN, Disney Parks and the Future of Star Wars
Walt Disney Company CEO Bob Iger on CNBC
Here is a video clip of Walt Disney CEO, Bob Iger discussing the latest financial results discussed in a recent shareholder conference call. In it he discusses the operating income at ESPN in a decline offset by higher affiliate revenue.
“In ESPN’s case, we had the largest program cost increase for the year in the quarter that we just announced,” Iger said. “We have new distribution deals coming online, but the revenue from those deals won’t hit until the second quarter… ESPN is running in the quarter around 7 percent above where they were last year and we feel much better about the advertising market now than we did during the quarter that was just announced.” – Bob Iger
