Tag: disney

Disney lost “nearly $5 billion” in third quarter, decides to release Mulan to Disney+ for additional $29.99 on September 4

~ Todd Russell ~ 1 Comment

Hold the swords, King Arthur!

We’ve got a rare 5th post of the day for some exciting news coming down the pipeline concerning the other shoe besides Tenet in the “when will it be released” camp.

Talking Mulan (FIRST LOOK)

Mulan has a reported ~$200 million budget and, after hemorrhaging billions of dollars in its various business interests in Q3-2020, will be streaming for $29.99 and whatever theaters are open — and will show it — under lack of honoring the theatrical window on September 4.

The news of the release came as Disney released brutal quarterly results that showed the extent to which the company’s media empire was ravaged by the pandemic. The company reported that it had a net loss of nearly $5 billion in the third quarter this year.

‘Mulan’ is finally heading to Disney+… for $30 – CNN

To my understanding, unless something changes (entirely possible), Regal Cinemas will not be showing Mulan under these conditions. They are sticking by the “must respect the standard theatrical window” requirement. So, when and if Regal Cinemas open later this month, Mulan will not be part of the offering.

Curious, I surfed over to Regal Cinemas website to see if Mulan was showing as a “coming soon” movie? Nope.

AMC? Who knows, they recently cut a deal with Universal to reduce the window for them and Focus Features to 17 days including at least three weekends. I read mixed reviews on that decision, but I liked it (see: Good deal – AMC strikes historic deal with Universal to shrink theatrical window to 17 days). We are in the minority I think on that perspective.

Cinemark is the only other giant player and they seem to be following Regal’s plans regarding not showing movies that don’t respect the standard 90 day theatrical window.

Streaming to VOD dates haven’t been pushed around that much (at all?), so I think it’s fairly safe to assume Mulan will be released on September 4, as Disney announced. What sort of theaters are open and screen it? Whole other enchilada.

Will Disney+ subscribers pony up another $30 to see Mulan? If you’re a subscriber, will you? Unless our grandchildren really want to see this movie badly, like they wanted to see Trolls World Tour, I don’t think we’ll be breaking out the plastic for this one.

I think what has me pausing is just how darn fast Scoob went from VOD to available on HBO Max. I mean it seemed like only a few weeks later. Don’t know the specific amount of time, but it might have been less than the 17 days!

Why pay $30 for Mulan, if a few weeks later it appears on Disney+ for $0 extra? I think this is a problem if there is no reasonable VOD streaming window. The other part of this decision is will we be able to buy it for $30, or is that strictly rental only? Buying and owning the movie for $30 doesn’t sting as much as renting it, only to see an appearance for $0 extra shortly later.

We’re just speculating on when Mulan will move away from $30 price at Disney+, but it’s an intriguing move considering the movie’s large budget. Does Disney need to do this out of financial necessity or is it trying to throw customers a 30 dollar bone?

Your comments, as always are welcome. Will you be paying an extra $30 for Mulan on Disney+ or waiting out the inevitable release without the extra VOD fee?

George Lucas is not coming back, Star Wars Fans, he is 75+ years old – and leave Kathleen Kennedy alone already

~ Todd Russell ~ 2 Comments
The Kathleen Kennedy scoreboard: movies she’s been involved with

As a general rule at this site, I try to stay away from responding to internet rumors. Often in my daily online reading travels, I come across “news” that is 99% speculation, rumor and hyperbole and 1% or less true news. Most of this I don’t bother covering or responding here. Why waste your time with a bunch of click-baiting garbage without any verifiable source?

Then again, sometimes I’m feeling playful and want to poke trolls … just because.

We have enough challenges staying on top of when and where movies are going to appear to get hung up on whether or not a 75 year old retired George Lucas is coming back to “save” Disney Star Wars.

Yeah, that’s one of the biggest “news” stories I keep seeing. It’s gone on for over a week now, started by a guy who uses a voice analyzer and wears a suit that makes him look like an alien from The Outer Limits.

Sadly, I’m being serious.

In 2020, we are supposed to take our news from a guy who shakes his fist in an alien costume disguising his voice. He has over 185,000 subscribers on YouTube and several claiming his Lucasfilm sources are credible in past stories.

I just laugh looking at his ridiculous on screen persona. Dude, the first rule of being taken seriously is to be, well, serious. This guy is a caricature. I like his shtick for entertainment value, but not for news. If you watch Dicktor Von Doomcock’s videos (seriously, he has “dick” in his name like twice lmao), he openly admits that we should take his rumors “with a grain of salt.” Of course very few are actually doing that.

I digress.

Awhile back I asked here if we would even want Lucas back? I would love to see George Lucas as writer and director of another movie. Not another Star Wars movie, no thank you. I know he created it, but he had three Star Wars prequels that pretty much ruined my interest in more George Lucas Star Wars. Could he do a spin-off in the Star Wars universe that was cool? Sure, maybe. Would he want to at 75+ years old? Based on his own commentary on the subject, it’s extremely unlikely.

Lucas has like $2 billion dollars worth of reasons to spend time with his family and not get into making more Star Wars. Life is way too short, especially when you’re in your mid 70s.

This brings us back to the Kathleen Kennedy haters.

I can’t subscribe to the group that blames Kennedy for all that is wrong with Disney Star Wars (see: Kathleen Kennedy and The Mandalorian Rumors). If you make it her fault that the final three sequels were jacked up, then you also have to credit her for The Mandalorian and Rogue One and dare I even suggest that Solo was better than two of the three final trilogy (it wasn’t as good as Force Awakens)?

While I don’t have independent verification, Robert Meyer Burnett is saying that Solo toys are currently outselling any other Disney Star Wars toys except The Mandalorian Baby Yoda rules all SW toy sales. Anyway, got to credit Kathleen Kennedy for this, too, right? Only fair.

I just read a good story that, like Dicktor Von Doomcock, claims to have an inside source at Disney. If you want to get caught up in reading all things bad about Kathleen Kennedy, it’s worth having something to balance with a contrarian viewpoint.

More specifically, they say there is no talk about Kennedy leaving any time soon. At present, she has her attention focused on the film side of things over at Lucasfilm, while Favreau and Filoni are more focused on the Disney+ content. Furthermore, our source added that the rumored “civil war” is not true, and that they trio’s working relationship is fine.

LRM – No, Kathleen Kennedy Is Not Getting Pushed Out Of Lucasfilm, And There Is No Internal Civil War | LRM’s Top Shelf Rumor

100% don’t believe George Lucas is ever coming back to Star Wars — other than in a capacity to consult (he’s been doing that by many reports all along).

If he ever directs a Star Wars movie will I want to see it? Sure, but after seeing his prequels, I’m not clamoring for any more Lucas Star Wars. Give me some fresh eyes and ideas making new Star Wars films. Jon Favreau and Dave Filoni can give us more Mando and spinoffs. There are plenty of other filmmakers that can probably do some crazy cool things within the Star Wars galaxy.

(Not Rian Johnson)

Kathleen Kennedy staying isn’t going to be a roadblock to getting more good Star Wars created. Logic and history will tell you otherwise. She’s been a part of way too many good movies to be as terrible as some Star Wars fans believe. I don’t subscribe to the notion that on every film she just got coffee for the directors. That’s not only sexist, it’s just ignorant and stupid. Kennedy had good ideas according to Spielberg himself.

Let’s not rewrite history here. Lucas hand-picked Kennedy. Maybe he thought she’d use his Star Wars sequel stories and feels somehow betrayed, but he took the money and every writer — even the great George Lucas — should understand rejection. Disney doesn’t have to use his ideas. He sold Star Wars and thus gave the new owners the power to do whatever they wanted with the IP, including telling whatever stories — good, bad or indifferent — they wanted to tell.

In closing, George Lucas isn’t coming back. If he does come back, I’ll happily admit being wrong, and if he does would welcome and look forward to seeing any non-Star Wars movies that he writes and directs.

Star Wars fans need to move on from Lucas. Not from Star Wars. Keep The Force alive, I get it. We can get more great media out of this IP.

Plenty of great creative people out there besides George Lucas. As for Kathleen Kennedy, she’s earned a seat at the table doing what she is doing as long as she wants to do it. I don’t get the hate, really. It just supports the notion that women executives aren’t treated as well as men. Hollywood does have far too many men in positions of power and Kennedy has a resume that is very deserving a seat at any film production table.

Delayathon 2020 Continues – Avatar pushed back to 2022, Mulan, AMC theaters, Bill and Ted Face The Music, Top Gun: Maverick and more!

~ Todd Russell ~ 9 Comments
Avatar 2 will now be hitting theaters December 16, 2022, instead of 2021

Please excuse the FIRST LOOK Friday interruption, as there are many, many film delays to comment on. It’s becoming hard to keep up with them all, but by the end of this post we’ll both be more in the know.

First up, James Cameron’s billion dollar budget Avatar sequels may have started refilming not too long ago but Disney is delaying the December 2021 release by a full year. It doesn’t stop there, that pushes back the other sequels, of course.

Of course, with Avatar 2 being pushed to December 16, 2022, that means the other three Avatar sequels have been delayed as well. As it stands now, Avatar 3 is now scheduled for December 20, 2024, followed by Avatar 4 on December 18, 2026 and Avatar 5 on December 22, 2028. Assuming those dates stick (and given this franchise’s track record and these crazy times we live in, that’s far from guaranteed), that means by the time the Avatar film series concludes, it’ll have been nearly 20 years since the first movie came out and took the world by storm.

James Cameron Responds To Avatar 2’s Latest Delay – CINEMABLEND

Who didn’t expect this delay? These Avatar sequels have been cursed for delays since starting. I’m about 30% certain we’ll even see this in 2022, but we’ll save that snark for another day. What’s even worse, perhaps, is contemplating how even the wizard James Cameron, master of technology in filmmaking can make back this mammoth budget. I suppose if anybody can do it, he has the track record. Just seems on the heels of a complete abortive Terminator sequel failure and the pandemic fallout, prospects are unfavorable.

Mulan delayed, but not “indefinitely”

Moving to the next obvious delay from Disney is Mulan. They’ve pulled a Tenet and aren’t giving us any sort of future date yet. “Indefinitely” is what other publications are labeling it, but that’s misleading. They aren’t indefinitely delaying Mulan, they just haven’t chosen a future date — yet. Am curious if that date will be close to Tenet. The two films have enjoyed a lot of promotional press for being indicators of the healthy state of cinemas during the pandemic.

Don’t want to speculate too much here, but it seems reasonable to believe that whatever films open first are likely not to perform as well as they would have before the pandemic — but there are so many details involved: when the theaters are reopened, how many theaters are opened both domestically and internationally, safety protocols and more. I do believe there is a strong desire for people to see movies in theaters again someday, but safety first is on everybody’s minds as long as there isn’t a vaccine for the The Thing That Should Not Be Named.

AMC delays reopening until mid to late August

Regal was already out (see: Regal Cinemas Delays Reopening Once Again – Now Closed 126+ days – Tenet exploring outside US premiere first), choosing the “we don’t know when we are reopening” date which is code for “we will open as soon as AMC reopens”, but AMC, again predictably following Tenet delay is saying they won’t open until mid to late August.

Bottom line is Summer 2020 for movies in America is dead, gone and soon to be cremated or buried. We now must look to the Fall and beyond for cinematic salvation.

Bill & Ted Face The Music – day and date release on September 1

Bill & Ted: Face The Music, which I have scheduled for a FIRST LOOK today has been bumped to September 1, 2020 simultaneously on both VOD and whatever theaters are open. We won’t hear a peep from NATO / AMC on this one, as they have too many fires raging on their lawn to squabble over theatrical windows any more.

Speaking of NATO, they lost their lawsuit to force opening in New Jersey.

Top Gun: Maverick re-holsters release until July 2, 2021

We’ll have to contain our excitement for Maverick’s return. Paramount has grounded Tom Cruise’s sequel until July 2, 2021. Paramount’s horror sequel, A Quiet Place: Part II, will not be released until 2021 either. That is covered below.

What other announced film delays?

Am certain to be missing some, but here’s what we’ve learned as of this writing, bullet-style in chronological delayed release date:

  • Unhinged – delayed from July 31, making this the lone new title that would have been released in theaters in July, now that only happens in the Twilight Zone. A third delay with no specific August date, but studio Solstice wants to release next month. They are in a holding pattern to see what Tenet and Mulan are doing.
  • The Empty Man – delayed from August 7 to December 4, 2020
  • SpongeBob Movie: Sponge On The Run – delayed multiple times, most recently from August 7 until January 2021 with day and date release (VOD + Theaters)
  • A Quiet Place Part II – delayed multiple times, most recently from September 4, 2020 to April 23, 2021
  • The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It – delayed from September 11, 2020 to June 4, 2021
  • 2 Hearts – delayed from September 11 to October 16
  • Halloween Kills – delayed from October 16, 2020 to October 15, 2021
  • The New Mutants – psych! This one has not been delayed again — yet — and is still planned for August 28. They reiterated this at the Comic-Con@Home panel. It’s still almost a month away, so this could change …

For a complete list of movies coming to theaters in 2020, visit: FIRST LOOK: 75+ Movies Coming To Theaters In 2020 — the title of that post will probably be wrong at the rate we’re going, but that page continues to be updated regularly. I’ve started a 2021 coming soon to theaters page, but not ready to share that quite yet, because of the ever-changing dates and moves.

What’s left coming to theaters in August 2020?

Seven movies as of this writing. I’ll have that posted at some point in the next week, but again, still waiting to see further movie delays. September only shows *3* movies coming to theaters at the moment. Based on everything that’s not happening, more delays should be expected.

Tenet Delayed Again to August 12 – Summer Movie Theater Viewing Slipping Away

~ Todd Russell ~ 5 Comments

Sigh.

You’ve probably heard there’s been a spike in new COVID-19 cases and Warner Bros. is saying goodbye to July for Tenet and pushing it back — again — this time to August 12, 2020.

The article linked and quoted below is claiming their “sources” are saying Disney will be announcing delaying Mulan, too, currently scheduled for July 24, to be pushed back further. If indeed that happens, there will only be two wide releases planned to open in theaters in July.

No movie dates can be considered guaranteed even not in our current times, but you might as well write all movie dates in pencil and have a giant eraser handy.

Warner Bros. announced the shift on Thursday amid rapidly changing and unexpected circumstances. 

Christopher Nolan’s ‘Tenet’ Delays Release to Mid-August Amid Spike in COVID-19 Cases

The summer is a busy time for theaters traditionally. A great time to get out of the heat and into air-conditioned theaters. July 10, our Regal Cinemas have committed to reopening (see: July 10 Cineworld Regal Cinemas to reopen all theaters – Update On Unlimited Pass Subscription), which barring our own unexpected circumstances, we intend to fully support. I heard they’re planning to show some classic movies like Jurassic Park. Yes, I’ll pay to rewatch that movie in the theater in 2020. Or, rather, since our Unlimited Pass will be available for use until we get billed again in August, we’ll get in for the awesome price of $0. We miss the big screen experience, the popcorn, the comfy recliner seats …

If the theater chains don’t change their mind based on this news, anyway. Hope not, but every day this pandemic seems to rain more bad news of some sort down upon us.

Do I think the theaters should delay reopening? If it’s unsafe in their area to do so, then yes, of course. What I don’t want to see is theaters closed and casinos open. I can’t believe a movie theater is higher risk than a casino, can you?

Don’t ask for logic in these times.

Slaying Sacred Cows – sure, bring on Deadpool vs. Mickey Mouse @robliefeld

~ Todd Russell ~ 4 Comments
Deadpool creator

Not a formal review or anything, but worth noting that I’m not a huge fan of Deadpool.

Thought it was a fun, entertaining movie, but Deadpool’s ongoing sarcastic monologue just wore on me after awhile. Haven’t watched Deadpool 2 yet. Deadpool 3? Sorry House of Mouse, I like the graphic tease.

Robert Liefeld’s (Twitter follow: @robliefeld) Deadpool slaying Mickey Mouse art is intriguing. Yeah, yeah, it’s just a joke and something Disney would almost certainly never do, but in my horror-friendly, adult-favored animated world, this would be the type of film I might get into.

In a dark, Deadpool way, this artwork is morbidly amusing, and there’s clearly nothing subtle about Liefeld’s gesture here. That said, it likely doesn’t do him any good to share it on social media, and at this point it’s overkill – particularly considering his previous shots at Disney. One can understand Liefeld’s frustrations with Disney to an extent; he’s obviously passionate about the character and would like to see Deadpool star in a new film soon, but something like this isn’t going to encourage Marvel to fast-track Deadpool 3 (especially with how full their plate is right now).

Deadpool Creator Throws Shade At Disney With Gruesome Mickey Mouse Art

Not that I need or particularly want to see Mickey Mouse with his throat slit, but it’s the fact that it’s so not, not, not Disney to do something graphic and adult-oriented like this, that it could be shockingly fun. They could do it at their “adult” portal (see: Hulu is the Adult/Mature Disney+, Just ask Hillary Duff) so as not to tarnish the more family-friendly Disney+ offerings.

Again, this isn’t a real project, or even a contemplated one, but would you watch Deadpool vs. Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck and company?

VOD Doesn’t Compete With Movie Theaters, Says Alamo Drafthouse Founder

~ Todd Russell ~ Leave a comment

Thankfully in 2020 there are still some theater chain owners unafraid of VOD.

“Cinema is not competing against VOD. It’s not competing against home entertainment. It’s competing against restaurants, comedy clubs and out-of-home experiences,” said League, over Zoom, after sharing, “At Arthouse Convergence years ago, Ira [Deutchman] gave a keynote address about the long history of the death of it, from television to cable to VHS to DVD, and everything had been wrong so far. People inherently as a society want to get out of the house and that is more true than ever right now.“

Alamo Drafthouse Founder Tim League:
“Cinema Is Not Competing Against VOD”

League is sort of correct. The bolding in the quote above is mine. It’s important to understand the movie theater experience is different than the at-home viewing experience. I’ve detailed the differences several times in the past here.

The other thing to understand is how much people are willing to pay for live events vs. pre-recorded events.

Movies are not epic live sports matches.

$100 is too expensive for watching a new movie. Studios might (crazily) try this price point and there might be some equally crazy takers, but the numbers won’t be there.

I don’t see how movies will ever be comparable to live events.

A play is a live event, but I can’t even see paying $100 to watch a play streamed live. In person, sure, if the seats are good, but not on TV. Live is, well, live. Something recorded and edited just has a different value to it. Not the same entertainment experience.

Sports are different. You need to see them live so you can share in the result. Like when Mike Tyson bit Evander Holyfield’s ear in their famous rematch (yes, we paid for this pay per view and saw this live)

Mike Tyson goes into full Dracula mode on Evander Holyfield … this PPV was crazy entertaining!

Kevin Smith thinks the only way Black Widow goes straight to VOD instead of a theatrical run is if it Disney/Marvel could get $100 for the VOD. Sorry, but no way. $19.99 is a stretch (see: Yes, Some Are Paying $20 to Rent New Movies – But Is This The Right Price Point?), this isn’t a one of a kind live pay per view sporting event (which is about the only type of event that can command that kind of money).

In fact, he predicts it would force movie studios to abandon the theater model altogether. “If we all did that, that would change the world,” he said. “They’d be like, ‘F*ck movie theaters! Sell them these movies for $100 a pop.’” Considering the average movie ticket is $10 to $12, that’s a hefty price jump. Sure, people love the Marvel movies and flock to see them in droves. But do they love them enough to drop a cool hundred just to rent one?

Kevin Smith Bluntly Explains The Only Way That ‘Black Widow’ Could Ever Go Straight To VOD

Even if the pandemic renders movie theaters a place not as many will be going — we will be there as soon as they reopen — overpriced VOD/PVOD will not be the future.

I think the $19.99 price point was tested with Trolls World Tour. Any higher and the number of people that sign up will fall. This isn’t a Mike Tyson boxing event, which, ironically, he seems to be tooling up to box again in exhibition matches for charity. Would I pay to see $100 to see Tyson-Holyfield III live? Probably not, but $50 seems like an instant purchase.

No idea if that would ever happen, but if you think I’m just floating out fictional events, check your news feed with a search on Mike Tyson.

As for movies pushing VOD pricing? I think we’ve seen the ceiling. It’s $20, maybe a little higher. That isn’t going to generate a billion in 2020. This means we can expect to see movie theaters open again and showing new blockbuster movies. More and more people will come back to the theaters for a wide variety of reasons (see: One Big Reason Why Movie Theaters Will Be OK Compared To Streaming)

Summer will get hot and, hopefully, we’ll see theaters open again. July 17, 2020 seems like a target date we’ll be able to watch Tenet in theaters. Sure, that could change, but as of this writing anyway, that date — unless there are more pandemic setbacks — seems at least a little possible.

Frozen Wages – Disney’s Executives Take Salary Cut During These Difficult Times

~ Todd Russell ~ Leave a comment

Frozen II ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Maybe these big companies are learning from the economic meltdown of 2008 and wanting to show us that the generously compensated executives are also feeling the pain of the employees far down the company chain. Most of these lower level employees have had their incomes reduced to $0, no thanks to layoffs.

It is probably not how the company’s leadership had planned to mark the one year anniversary of the $71.3 billion Disney-Fox merger, which was 10 days ago, on March 20. With Hollywood production shut down, theatrical releases on hold and amusement parks closed, Disney’s incoming CEO Bob Chapek this morning announced a salary reduction of 30% for EVPs and above, 25% for SVPs and 20% for VPs “until we foresee a substantive recovery in our business.” Chapek himself is taking a 50% pay cut, while executive chairman Bob Iger will forego 100% of his salary. All reductions are said to apply to base pay.

Disney’s Executive Pay Cut Threatens To Deepen the Divide Between The Two Sides Of The Merged Company

This is good in theory, but not as applicable in reality. Salary is somewhat irrelevant for executives who make their lion’s share of wealth through stock options. Yes, they can lose millions of dollars on paper with stock price fluctuations, but they also can gain them back as the market juggernaut regains. Take a look at the Dow Jones historic trend over the last 40 years.

It goes up, dips a bit, goes up, dips, but overall it’s ascending over time. The precipice at the far right is where we are right now: economic uncertainty. Many businesses are closed, millions out of work, shelter in place everywhere, everybody knows it seems like we’re all doomed. This illustrates market reaction to falling off the mountain peak. You can see a similar dip near 2009 when Wall Street needed a bailout. The market might just tank to those levels or lower again. Time will tell.

I’m not trying to be snarky, but still stinging from articles that came out after the Wall Street bailout of the financial markets about executives getting golden parachutes and making double digit millions in severance packages, while their companies were saved from financial ruin by taxpayers. Why were we ever bailing out these rich executives? There needs to be provisions in place for companies which cannot award high level executives from cashing out on the taxpayer’s pocketbook.

Am hopeful, but wary, that a lesson has been learned and government bailouts when we’re essentially broke as a country (see: $2 trillion deal stimulus package receives bipartisan support, movie theater chains likely included) will not lead to more of these stories in the coming days, weeks or months when life starts returning to normal.

Star Wars 2021 Themed Hotel at Disneyworld May Be A Force To Reckon With

~ Todd Russell ~ Leave a comment

No matter what you thought about Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, this Disneyworld Star Wars themed hotel called the looks like a ton of fun.

Fans will begin their assent into space by entering the terminal, before being sent into space via a launch pod.

Disney’s new ‘Star Wars’ hotel will begin taking reservations later this year | CNN Travel

Bet our grandchildren would dig hanging out in this galaxy. I mentioned it to my wife and she was like, “um, no” but hey, I think it looks cool. Probably it is cost prohibitive for families, I didn’t dig too deep into it to know for sure. Anybody seen projected pricing on this?

More research needed.

Meanwhile, I’m having The Mandalorian withdrawals. Got to wait for another season, but haven’t really been back to Disney+ since the first season concluded.

No, George Lucas is not coming back to Star Wars

Hearing a few rumors that George Lucas might be back in some capacity? I’m not buying it. He’s been pretty consistently retired from Star Wars since the sale to Disney. Sure, he’ll drop by the set or offer some creative office time to espouse some of his creator wisdom, they’ll bow to him and/or pat him on the head, and then do whatever the heck they want. I’m not even sure George Lucas back doing anything except if he is behind the director’s chair, is newsworthy. That isn’t meant as disrespectful, he’ll always be credited for his genius creation, but it’s in different creative hands now. Star Wars fans need to accept that and move on from Lucas.

Unless he says he’s written a new script and is directing a new Star Wars movie. Then somebody can pinch me and we’ll talk about it.

There is a reason I try not to give too much bandwidth to rumors, because they are worth clicks and quick eyeball traffic, but it’s generally wiser to just focus on what we know, not what we don’t.

Disney purges “FOX” name – the FOX has left the 20th Century Mouse House

~ Todd Russell ~ 1 Comment

As seen at the beginning of Star Wars, the most profitable movie of all time, the title card will no longer hold relevance soon. Disney is removing “FOX” from 20th Century Fox.

Disney is dropping the Fox name from its 20th Century Fox brand, renaming the longtime studio as just 20th Century Studios. Its art house production company, Fox Searchlight, will now be known as Searchlight Pictures.

Disney drops ‘Fox’ name and will rebrand its movie studio as ’20th Century’ | FOX 4 Kansas City WDAF-TV | News, Weather, Sports

After Disney bought Fox, the name’s fate was just one of many question marks. How much of the 20th Century Fox movies will end up in Disney+ and what will go into the infamous Big D vault?

This name change seems to be a departure from what Disney CEO Bob Iger said back in August 2019:

“The company itself will be The Walt Disney Co., but there will still be companies, especially on the movie side, with the Fox name,” Iger said during the meeting, which Disney live-streamed. “We will continue to make movies under the Fox brand and Fox Searchlight brand. And FX, which isn’t Fox, but sounds like it will keep its name.”

Disney Boss Bob Iger Says 20th Century Fox Will Continue to Make Films Under Its Own Brands

No entities live forever: people, business and brands. Still, sad to see the FOX leaving the hen, er, mouse house. R.I.P FOX.

15+ more Star Wars: Rise of Skywalker Reviews – Disney Placates George Lucas + Boyega Under Fire

~ Todd Russell ~ Leave a comment

Why are we still talking about Star Wars?

Because The Mandalorian just closed out on a high note the first season, and Episode IX is still turning and burning in the theaters, ringing cash registers for the gigantic D.

As much as I’d like to move onto many other films, the movie blogs I’m following are still posting reviews and talking Star Wars. They are drawing me back in.

So, who buys this rumor from an inside source that says Disney’s Lucasfilm wants George Lucas back?

the studio want him back, but want him to work in a more official capacity and more “on the record” this time around. It’s likely this new role will give Lucas significant creative control over the direction of the newer Star Wars films that he oversees, unlike his work on Rise of Skywalker, which Lucas allegedly did as a favor to director J. J. Abrams.

Lucasfilm Reportedly Wants George Lucas To Return And Oversee Star Wars

The headline is a bit misleading — imagine the clickbait. It actually is believable that they would give George Lucas some sort of pat on the head consultant role, but it’s obvious by their actions they have no interest in paying attention to any of his creative ideas unless he steps back up and gets in the director chair.

Which, if you watch this video with Mark Hamill’s award ceremony, he’s blatantly dismissive about ever coming back: “No, I’m out of the game.”

At the end of this speech you can fast forward to 2:50 and see Lucas reaction to making more movies

Our favorite stormtrooper renegade, John Boyega, is in a wee bit of a dustup over joking around on social media. Come on, Finn, you know you can’t make any sexual jokes about co-stars characters. This is DISNEY Star Wars, man, the house that Mickey built. Keep those pipe laying comments in the trench for Wedge to navigate and shoot down the Death Star target.

Sorry, I laughed. I’m not really much of a Star Wars fan any more. Haven’t been for years. I did enjoy The Mandalorian and am eager for season two, but theater-wise it’s just been a run of too many so-so to bad movies for me to get all that excited about the feature films any more.

People, we had George Lucas make three more Star Wars films not that long ago. Two of the three were awful. I don’t think Lucas, as great as he was when all cylinders were firing and he wanted to make great movies, has any heart left for it any more. I mean that with all due respect. He’s rich and retired, and wants to stay that way.

If I were him, I’d have no interest in any sort of complimentary consulting role at Lucasfilms. That’s sounds like a good excuse to use his name for promotional purposes. He’s much smarter than that.

Now, we just have to hope younger people will take the torch and make more stories like The Mandalorian.

More Reviews by Others

Just putting the newest reviews I’ve read here, rather than separating by recommended and not recommended.

  1. And in this Corner: “The movie is not as bad as critics have made it out to be. It is certainly not good, but it is also not the worst “Star Wars” movie”
  2. Anthony Herring / Byte: “…when the film works, it truly excels, but when it doesn’t work, it really, really does not.”
  3. Cinema Perspective: “…a rescue mission gone terribly wrong.”
  4. Cole Mushel / The C Word: “I’m going to say that I like this movie, I don’t love it, I don’t even think it’s that great, but I like it. I think I mostly like it because at the end of the day it’s a Star Wars.”
  5. Emerald / My Turn To Talk: “I found the ending neither hopeful nor satisfying, but the stuff that came before it was enjoyable enough.”
  6. Ginger Movie Reviews: “To be the final movie in the Star Wars story, it was held to a very high standard. It did not disappoint me.”
  7. Maria Copeland: “…wasn’t a brilliant film, but it succeeded where it most mattered..”
  8. mrushing02: “To my utter surprise, I liked it, from start to finish. It did something I never expected it to be able to, it not only made me like The Force Awakens more, it actually utilized plot elements from The Last Jedi in a way that almost redeemed them in my eyes. It also found a way to bring the Skywalker Saga to a satisfactory close for me.”
  9. Patrick Why / The Ebert Test: “…does leave a bit of a bad taste due to its almost algorithmic hitting of beats, tying up of loose ends and resolving of call-backs.”
  10. Plenty of Popcorn: “…is definitely worth watching with a friend or two who can interject with outlandish, inappropriately-timed fan theories.”
  11. Riley’s Ramblings: “Actually most things, it wasn’t a bad movie, except for the issues with Kylo Ren and Rey”
  12. Son of Freedom: “While JJ Abrams did pull off a miraculous feat, everything about this trilogy was so haphazard and random that it’s hard to care. The film is too rushed. The characters spend too much time yelling at each other. The jokes rarely land. The retcons and MacGuffins are dumb.” (ed. this is one funny well-written review. Nicely done!)
  13. Stroke of Genius: “I can say I was happy with the way they landed the plane.  As for suspicions and reports about various forms of clunkiness in the process well, that’s kinda how these things go.  Life and art imitate each other, you know.”
  14. The Bad Movie Marathon: “This film is a mess, and I could probably roll with that more if it wasn’t for the fact that a lot of the reason for that is that it backpedalled on TLJ, for better or – more often – for worse.”
  15. The Genre Freak: “In his desperation to please the wide berth of Star Wars fans, JJ Abrams has made a movie that’s both narratively flawed and just honestly soulless.”
  16. The Movie Vampire (3.5/5): “…as easy as it is to pick holes in certain elements of the movie, but pros outweigh the cons in a pretty big way for me.  This is the first time we’ve really seen the cast of the new trilogy working together on a mission and the adventure elements here really delivered for me.”
  17. The Nerdy Critique: “I did enjoy it. But if you start to think about it even the slightest, it crumbles to the ground in a heap”

Want to read 65+ more reviews by others? Check out this post and this one.