Farewell, LucasArts

I heard the big news during my Audio/Visual Production class yesterday afternoon and, honestly, I'm still not happy about it.

Disney shut down LucasArts.

There wasn't any warning.  There weren't any rumors about it.  They just discussed it quietly and then suddenly laid off over a hundred employees yesterday morning.

And gamers like me are still sitting here in shock at the whole thing.

For those of you who don't know, LucasArts is the video game company that George Lucas - the Maker himself - founded years ago.  They've been the publishers and developers behind games like LEGO Star Wars, The Force Unleashed, Battlefront, and so many others.  And now it's gone.

By a technicality, LucasArts still exists.  According to one of the company's representatives, their position was compared to other similar developer/publishers in the gaming industry, and they'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.  As a result of this change, we've had layoffs across the organization" (Computerandvideogames.com)

Basically, LucasArts will no longer be developing games, just publishing them.  It also means that two big games that so many people were looking forward to playing - Star Wars 1313 and First Assault - have apparently been totally cancelled.  Supposedly, they're looking for another development company to finish both games, but that may or may not end up happening.  It's all rather up in the air at the moment, and probably will be for a while.

Honestly, I'm really not liking this.  I mean, I had some initial reservations about Disney taking over the Lucas Empire, but then I figured, "Hey, it's Disney.  They do quality stuff, so they probably won't screw this up."

Then they cancelled The Clone Wars.

And now they've totally messed with LucasArts.

I think what makes me the most upset is the fact that over 150 LucasArts employees were laid off because of this decision.  I mean, it would have been one thing if Disney had warned them about it, but from everything I've read it seems like the developers just walked in one day and found their jobs gone.

I mean, really, Disney.  Couldn't you have at least let them finish making Star Wars 1313 and First Assault before you laid them off?  Those guys had been working on those projects for so long, and now they don't have the opportunity to finish what they started.  And for a creative person (which game designers, programmers, and developers definitely are) who puts so much time, effort, and imagination into his work, being dropped from that project that you put almost everything into is nothing short of terrible.

But what's done is done.  Disney has made its choice and, unfortunately, that choice involved almost two hundred men and women losing their jobs.  For me, I know I'll be praying that all those who were laid off will find good work soon and specifically work that they love, and I would encourage everyone else out there to do the same.

And who knows?  Maybe one day we'll look back and realize that this was ultimately a good decision for everyone.  Right now it feels like anything but.

Expectations are sky high for you, Disney.  Please don't mess this up.




 - Edessa, signing off

A New Direction

There's some big news circling around the Star Wars world, and it's most definitely worth keeping an eye on.

As all of you (hopefully) know, Disney recently bought the Star Wars franchise from George Lucas, including all of novels, merchandise, and television series.  While Disney is working on giving us another Star Wars trilogy - which, by the way, will also have Mark Hamil, Carrie Fisher, and Harrison Ford reprising their iconic roles from the original trilogy - it's also putting The Clone Wars and Detours on new tracks.

After an absolutely wonderful fifth season, Disney has sadly decided to wind The Clone Wars series down.  This doesn't mean that they're just stopping with Season Five (there are still a  few more story arcs left for them to tell), but it does mean that the series is slowly drawing to a close.  It's really sad, particularly for big CW fans like myself, but I guess I also realize that Disney would rather focus its creativity on making an amazing new trilogy of Star Wars films.  I suppose I would rather have them devote more of their efforts to that, no matter how much I love CW.

For more information on the CW issue and to see a really exciting clip from one of the upcoming story arcs, check out this video: http://starwars.com/watch/the-future-of-star-wars-the-clone-wars.html

As for the animated comedy show Star Wars Detours, Disney has decided to postpone the series release until an unspecified later date.  Their reasoning is that it doesn't "make sense" to release a comedy series before the release of Episode VII.  Honestly, that logic doesn't "make sense" to me, but I guess Disney will do what Disney will do.  Hopefully the series will release fairly soon because I, for one, am really looking forward to it.

So whether you love or hate or are indifferent to Disney's purchase of George Lucas' iconic franchise, now is still a great opportunity to support that wonderful galaxy far, far away.  Change is most definitely hard and many people (myself included) hate change, but the potential for Star Wars' growth as a franchise is very real and very possible.

Let's rally around Disney and Lucasfilm, Ltd., and encourage them to make this the greatest century to be any type of Star Wars fan!  Viva la Star Wars!

 - Edessa, signing off

King of the Elves

I've always loved Disney movies. My two personal favorites are Beauty and the Beast and Robin Hood (the animated one with animals in all of the roles), and I never get tired of watching them over and over and over again.

Maybe that will also be the case with Disney's new animated film, King of the Elves.

Current poster for King of the Elves

King of the Elves, a book written by Phillip K. Dick, "becomes the basis for this fantastic and imaginative tales about an average man living in the Mississippi Delta, whose reluctant actions to help a desperate band of elves leads them to name him their new king. Joining the innocent and endangered elves as they attempt to escape from an evil and menacing troll, their unlikely new leader finds himself caught on a journey filled with unimaginable dangers and a chance to bring real meaning back to his own life" (Movie Insider). The plotline sounds very intriguing to me, and I think it could be really good if Disney does it well.

Screenwriter Michael Markowitz (Horrible Bosses screenwriter) wrote the script, and the film will be produced by Chuck Williams and John Lasseter (director of Cars, Cars 2, and the two Toy Story sequels, as well as the screenwriter for Tangled). No directors have been hired yet (though both Aaron Blaise and Robert Walker were considered at one time), and I do not have a cast list either.

Currently King of the Elves is in the Development stage, which is when the final draft of the script is written, the budget is confirmed, and preliminary casting begins. The film has been at this stage since September 5, 2010.

The film will be in theaters sometime in November of 2013, though an exact date has not yet been pinned down. I do know, however, that King of the Elves will be available in 3D when it hits theaters.


Do you think that King of the Elves will be Good, Bad, or Ugly? And, while we're on the topic, do you have a favorite Disney film (animated or live-action)?


In Other News.....
......Disney/Pixar's upcoming animated adventure Brave has finally recieved its rating from the MPAA. It has been rated PG for some scary action and rude humor. Brave will be in theaters nationwide on June 22, 2012. See the official trailer at this link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AtrDBQ_qmlg




 - Edessa, signing off