Corporate Stewardship Of The Arts…by Christopher Derrick – Sympathy For The Devil #28 | @MDWorld
November 22, 2012 Chris Derrick 0 Comments
One of the biggest movie industry stories of the year (if not the decade) is Disney’s purchase of LucasFilm, and the groundbreaking (yet way past its prime) STAR WARS franchise.
With Star Wars and the Force tenants in the Mouse House, which is seen as high treasons in some circle, a few things should be considered. There’s a long, sad and disappointing history of independent creative companies being purchase by massive, unwieldy, behemoth conglomerates with promises of riches and continued artistic freedom that eventually end up with the founders being jettisoned like a gun-wielding passenger in an early James Bond Astin Martin.
In fact, NPR just ran a story on the rise of A&M Records, and how after Herb Alpert and Jerry Moss sold the independent and unique record label to Polygram (for half a billion dollars), the new corporate owners proceeded to eviscerate the company… and this is nothing new or surprising in the creative business community.
Although, some people might say that Disney is doing a good job with Marvel and its vast library of comics that are being turned into movies and TV shows… although all of the films that have been released were already in the pipeline PRIOR to the Disney purchase and that they’re still in the honeymoon period. Joss Whedon’s SHIELD TV series will be the litmus test. Disney CEO Bob Iger wants his filmed media to drive sales of consumer products and tickets to the theme parks… movies have little interest to him, and he’s said so publicly (this is not to say he carries any animosity toward, just that they are loss-leaders to him… and ONLY that). So when there is one gigantic flop (on the level of JOHN CARTER), see how Iger and the suits in the Magic Kingdom slap the shackles on the Marvel Execs.
If you remember, back in the ‘90s Disney purchased upstart indie stalwart Miramax from the brash Weinstein Brothers (Harvey and Bob), and after having considerable say in how the company was run for a few years, eventually Disney cracked down HARD (when there were big budget flops… as there always is). In the aftermath, the Weinstein Brothers left/were dismissed from the company (that was named after their parents) and Miramax was eventually dismantled (existing basically in name only).
Harvey and Bob tried to buy the company back, couldn’t and eventually returned with The Weinstein Company, but it hasn’t had the cultural impact that Miramax had in changing the shape of independent film. Which is easy to understand, practically all the energy required to stay a vibrant and relevant showman in the movie industry, which Harvey and Bob excelled at, was expended building the Miramax brand… what do they have left to “prove” now that they’re in the later stages of their careers? Legacy? I hope so… because those two were responsible for some damn good cinema.
Consider the state of the independent movie scene since Bob and Harvey sold their company, and then there was pressured to perform under a corporate yoke and lash, before ultimately bowing out. Sure, cinema consumption has changed since the early 90s, so the indie movie biz was going to be in trouble in any event, but those guys were “showmen” and they knew how to make a buzz for a little film that expanded the cultural discourse. Just like Alper & Moss.
Okay, but back to STAR WARS and LucasFilm; some fans are no doubt rejoicing that Lucas has relinquished the mantle as the custodian of The Force and the Star Wars universe, because they can effectively argue that he maligned his own creation, and the hunt for the next director of the trilogy is on (the writer has been selected; the TOY STORY 3 scribe).
Vanity Fair ran a brief blurb about which Hollywood directors have outright rejected the idea of directing the next STAR WARS trilogy; notably Steven Spielberg and Quentin Tarantino. QT was quick to throw barbs out, claiming that, “I could so care less” followed up with “No, sorry. Especially if Disney’s going to do it. I’m not interested in the Simon West version of STAR WARS.” (Simon West being the director behind the first Tomb Raider film).
I kinda agree with QT (which is rare), because while I was an avid STAR WARS fanatic as a kid and teen, the minute Lucas altered my childhood memory with an Orwellian affront expertly curated from the pages of “1984” and had Greedo shot at Han Solo first, the franchise was shanked in the back — by its own creator, and then the subsequent so-called “first trilogy” turned my growing ambivalence to disdain. [The saddest thing was Lucas, over the years, trying to justify the re-edit; pitiful].
The one thing that I don’t believe will happen, but should, is that each film should have a NEW director… in the original three films, a new director and writing team were behind each film, and this is part of what made that trilogy beyond good. Yes, there was Lucas’ hand in the everything, but there is a great chance that groupthink will set in if one director does the entire first trilogy based off of one writers treatments.
There’s already too much creation by committee with films, so there’s going to be more second guessing because franchises of this age and financial magnitude explicitly demand the one thing that all storytelling must have — RISK — but will be practically devoid of.
Disney paid too much damn money (and expect an even higher return) to make a risky trilogy that the fans would drool. Corporate managers number one job is to manage risk, not court it and encourage it!
The vast majority of films trilogies that have the same director and writing team turn ugly half way through the second film, and are atrocious in the final film. The list is long, but THE MATRIX trilogy immediately comes to mind, the PIRATES OF THE CARRIBEAN fits that bill too, and so does the LORD OF THE RINGS films (sacrilege? nay, be objective and you’ll agree… because only the first book is truly good). I think the Lethal Weapon series is the one exception; and the Die Hard films throw egg in the face of my theory.
BUT it’s probably going to be a situation with the next trilogy that they’re all shot back-to-back… and that’s the recipe for disaster. Remember, EMPIRE STRIKES BACK wasn’t guaranteed when Lucas went into production on STAR WARS, in fact, Lucas was afraid that the film wouldn’t connect with audiences.
There’s talk of bringing back Harrison Ford, Mark Hamill and Carrie Fisher… why? Why not cast NEW people to play those characters (and it’s also a mistake focus on the Skywalker family and its associates in the first place)? The BATMAN franchise survived that, and I believe the SUPERMAN update will succeed with a new man of steel.
The glimmer of hope with the Star Wars franchise is that the video games and the comic books have surpassed all six films — as a whole — in terms of passion, storytelling and drama, and myth making).
A few days after the LucasFilm/Disney announcement, there were two Facebook memes that I found curious… one asked for you to list your favorite franchise, and the other was an infographic that showed with mammoth media companies owned which franchises.
Regarding the “your favorite franchise”, I’m of the mindset that it is high time for new franchises to be established — ones that don’t come from 30 or 50+ year old IP (like more comic book movies) or are rehashes of something for the 80s (when original creativity, by and large, lost its ability to generate buzz in the mass audience).
What are you working on that is original IP that could be the next STAR WARS? I know its out there…
You can follow me on Twitter at @UnauthorizedCBD to continue the discussion…