Halloween it seems became all too real for a certain genus of film fan this year. As every man and his dog dressed up last month – some cosplaying, others vamping it up and many thousands more lumping it for ‘zombie’ – a certain piece of news was unyieldingly nudged onto the no-mans-land of the Internet. So secretly was it done in fact that many major publications didn’t get a report out until several hours later.
This nugget of news was, of course, that Disney had bought out Lucasfilm for the casual little sum of $4.05 billion; or what Michael Isner found down the back of his sofa earlier that morning.
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| 'What do you mean "there's no garlic dip"!?' |
And then there was the outrage. Oh, the outrage. Despite the utter dearth of actual information and that whole logic thing, it took nothing more than the words ‘Star Wars Episode VII’ to elicit reactions before then the exclusive reserve of Hitler, Stalin and all those charming chaps. Check out any sci-fi/ videogame/ film based forum for a glimpse into the frothing mire of malnourished opinions and mewling entitlement. As a case study, have a gander at this discreetly edited tirade found plastered upon this writer’s news-thread:
“To the people at disney. Do not let Jerry bruckheimer, I repeat DO NOT LET JERRY BRUCKHEIMER get any wear near the lucasfim division, if you do i shall swim over to that clucking country of yours, through that clucking hurricane and tear your clucking eyes balls out and clucking ram them up your own clucking arses where they belong ! you have been clucking warned !”
Grammar, morality and sanity taking a major bashing there. But why has the buy-out caused such unbridled hatred and, let’s face it, fear amongst some people? Now, a week or so after the event, it’s safe enough to reflect on what happened and note that there is a reason. A largely uninformed and depressingly ignorant reason but a reason nonetheless. It’s also safe, however, to highlight how Disney’s buying out of Lucasfilm can only be a good thing.
But first and foremost, what is it that’s apparently so bad about this buy-out?
Dealing with the Madness: Why are the Haters Hating?
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| The Men In Black were running short of funding. |
For the rational and clear thinking, or any old cinephile, Disney buying out yet another film IP is more evidence of the creative dearth often lamented as plaguing the modern film industry. The incessant flow of ‘revisions’ and re-makes, the overdependence on books and other media forms as well as the increasing adoption of foreign cinema as a source of ‘new’ content (Japan’s Ringu(1998) and Ju-On (2002) became Hollywood’s The Ring (2002) and The Grudge (2004) for example), have all contributed to a prevailing exasperation surrounding Hollywood. Quite rightly for some, Disney’s newest signing is simply the next step along the increasingly grey and featureless path towards an inevitable cinematic singularity. A tad nihilistic a belief perhaps but at least it’s a conceivable one (check out Empire’s Studio infographic linked below for a little clue).
http://www.empireonline.com/features/infographic-studio-franchises/?utm_source=ExactTarget&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=110912+newsletter- Empire: studios infographic
For everybody else – which is, sadly, the overwhelming majority – the dominant reason for rage is a basic sense of child-like entitlement. As happens far too often with properties in the ‘geeky’ realm of entertainment, die-hard fans of the series simply don’t want to see the story and world that they love change in a way that they either don’t like or don’t understand. Or, to put it more accurately: to see things develop in a way that they themselves have not decided is right. We’ve seen two uncomfortably impassioned examples this year alone: first with Mass Effect 3’s ending and, more recently, with the news that Bayonetta 2will be a Wii-U exclusive. In aid of staying on topic we won’t go into these farces here, but a quick Google search will yield all of the capricious idiocy you could ever dread to read.
And this, believe it or not, is the reason. Individuals will no doubt dress it up in whatever various forms of contrived heroism they want but, at the bottom line, the sheer vehement hate stemming from the likes of the charming chap quoted earlier derives from little more than a misplaced sense of privilege. While such a stance could easily be interpreted as a sweet or resilient dedication to a nostalgic past – the whole ‘we shall not be moved’ thang – its difficult to do so exactly because there are people like this. There are fans who find themselves perturbed by the change and that’s precisely the point; uneasiness is a perfectly reasonable and rational in response to change, shouting and threatening as though it’s the end of the world is not.
Let’s make this clear: the above description applies only to the abhorrent haters, divisible according to industrial cynicism and abject fanboyism. For the rest, those that are ambivalent to whole shebang and those others who find it a little disconcerting, have no fear! Below are three reasons to celebrate Disney’s newest business acquisition.
Star Wars: Going Nowhere in Particular in a Galaxy Far, Far away
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| 'S'up dudes, I'm a visual metaphor.' |
Brace yourselves Star Wars fans but here comes a truth bomb: Star Wars is a series rapidly stagnating. Think over the last couple of decades or so and its difficult to pinpoint any explicit highs for the series. For some (*cough* many) even the not-so-recent prequel trilogy is considered a blight on the series’ gilt-edged 80s mastery. Outside of that and what have we got: an uninspiring short-lived animated series and a metric ton of game tie-ins who’s most telling impact has been expanding the canonical universe to ridiculous and ever-more complicated degrees. In the realm of fandom, the most successful venture outside of the original trilogy have been the comic books, but their permeation into the cultural zeitgeist is comparable to a fart in a hurricane.
Simply put, Star Wars has been crying out for a bit of TLC. Videogame adaptions may come and go (with some admittedly hitting the mark like The Knights of the Old Republic) but Star Wars is first and foremost a film series. Lucasfilm, when under their increasingly geriatric furby-like leader, were merely burying the series under layer upon layer of unnecessary lore and exposition – midichlorians are the Jar-Jar Binks of the cellular world – and a fresh pair of legs is exactly what Star Wars need.
Disney: The House of Mouse has Some Serious Clout
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| 'I own them and I'll own you soon too!' |
Here’s another truth bomb: Disney is a consistent producer of fantastic films. When was the last time Disney made a truly bad film? Oh…John Carter…Okay, when was the last time Disney made a truly bad film that wasn’t John Carter? This may seem a really obvious point – and if it does then good! – but it is one of boundless importance as it seems to have been missed by a decent portion of the Internet pie.
Disney for many is synonymous with animations and children’s films, banded wantonly with ‘childish.’ But children’s films are not necessarily childish (in the negative sense of the word) and are certainly not intrinsically bad or ‘lesser’ than supposed adult films. It seems as though for many of whom this buy-out signals the apocalypse that Disney solely produce relentless Aladdin sequels and nothing else…a belief so majestically misguided that a fairy dies each time its followed.
Pixar and Marvel: both of these companies, too, are owned by Disney. And while under Disney’s parentage they have produced an inordinate amount of quality: the Toy Story trilogy, Finding Nemo, Monsters Inc., Up, Brave and others; the Iron Mans, Captain America, Thor, X-Men: First Class and that wee billion dollar hitter Avengers Assemble. The point here is clear: Disney have a proven track record of taking on existing IPs and helping to mould them into something monumentally successful. While Pixar and Marvel could quite conceivably survive on their own feet (and indeed have in the past), the point is that Disney has not only not ruined them, but given them the fiscal/organizational/creative impetus imperative for prolonged success and survival. Star Wars needs this as badly as students need caffeine and free junk.
Vaughan and Arndt
And finally, talking of creative impetus, two news stories have hit the internets over the last week which should give any self-respecting Star Wars fan reason to cheer as though it’s karaoke night at the Mos Eisley Cantina.
First up there was the rumour that Kick-Ass and X-Men: First Class kinetic director Matthew Vaughan is in talks to direct the already contentious Episode VII (link below). For anybody that wants Star Wars to be good again they should be frothing at the bit about this. Vaughan has already proven (remember that he’s still relatively new to directing) that he can not only immerse himself in an existing world (X-Men) but also adapt a story from elsewhere to stupendous effect (Kick-Ass). While this may still be just a rumour, it’s a reassuring indication that Lucasfilm, in their new home, are looking to current and creative avenues to reboot one of cinema’s most famous sons. And, oh would you look at that, Vaughan is a man attached to Disney at the Marvel level, able to move to Lucasfilm through Disney’s soft and gooey center.
http://www.mtv.co.uk/news/star-wars/368067-matthew-vaughn-talks-direct-star-wars-epsiode-7 - Vaughan rumour.
Secondly – and perhaps more excitingly – Oscar winning writer Michael Arndt has been confirmedas the writer for at least the first part of the eventual trilogy. For those feeling somewhat underwhelmed at this news let’s just specify that Arndt was the man behind the brilliant Little Miss Sunshine and (Disney connection alert) was the writer for universally adored Toy Story 3. Once again, Arndt’s involvement is testament to the monumental influence of Disney, an influence the company can – and clearly is – using in helping Lucasfilm piece together the revival of their flagship title.
So don’t worry Star Wars fans! The series that you know and love has, for the first time in a very long time, the opportunity to hit the heights first achieved all those moons ago. Rather than cause for fear and unease, this buyout is exactly what Star Wars and Lucasfilm need to potentially get the ball rolling again. And hey, nothing they make can be as bad The Phantom Menace.
And if the world still seems grim and miserable, go have a giggle:
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