Lucasfilm

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

Lucasfilm Ltd. LLC
Number of locations
6
Area served
Worldwide
Key people
Brands
  • Parent
Walt Disney Studios (2012–present)
Divisions
Websitewww.lucasfilm.com Edit this at Wikidata

Lucasfilm Ltd. LLC is an American film and television production company founded by filmmaker George Lucas in 1971 in San Rafael, California, though most of the company's operations were moved to San Francisco in 2005.[3] It has been a subsidiary of Walt Disney Studios since 2012 and is best known for creating and producing the Star Wars and Indiana Jones franchises, as well as its leadership in developing special effects, sound, and computer animation for films.

The company's films

Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (2016), Star Wars: The Last Jedi (2017), and Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker (2019) are all among the 50 highest-grossing films of all time, with The Force Awakens becoming the highest-grossing film in the United States and Canada. On October 30, 2012, Disney acquired Lucasfilm for $4.05 billion in the form of cash and stock with $1.855 billion in stock.[4][5][6][7]

History

Independent era (1971–2012)

Lucasfilm was founded by filmmaker

20th Century Fox Television.[12] That year, Lucas hired Los Angeles-based real-estate specialist Charles Weber to manage the company, telling him that he could keep the job as long as he made money.[13] Lucas wanted the focus of the company to be making independent films, but the company gradually became enlarged from five employees to almost 100, increasing in middle management and running up costs. In 1980, after Weber asked Lucas for fifty million dollars to invest in other companies and suggested that they sell Skywalker Ranch to do so, Lucas fired Weber and had to let half of the Los Angeles staff go.[13]
By the same year, the corporate subsidiary had been discontinued and its business was absorbed into the various divisions of Lucasfilm.

Between 1981 and 1989, three Indiana Jones films, stories by Lucas and directed by Steven Spielberg, were released. While Return of the Jedi (1983) was in production, Lucas decided not to pursue further Star Wars films.[14] Unhappy with the cinema presentation of Return of the Jedi, he created the company THX, which was unveiled on May 20, 1983.[15] Lucasfilm produced the John Korty-directed animated film Twice Upon a Time (1983). 1985 saw the release of Paul Schrader's Mishima: A Life in Four Chapters. The next year, Jim Henson's Labyrinth and an adaptation of Marvel Comics' Howard the Duck were released. Ron Howard directed the fantasy film Willow in 1988 (story by Lucas); the same year the children's animated film The Land Before Time was released. From 1992 to 1993, The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles (created by Lucas) television series was produced. In 1992, after viewing an early computer-generated imagery test created by Industrial Light & Magic (ILM) for Jurassic Park, Lucas announced his intentions to produce a Star Wars Prequel Trilogy.[16] In 1994, the long-delayed Radioland Murders (story by Lucas) was released. In 1995, Lucas began production on the prequel trilogy. The trilogy took 10 years to make, ending with the release of the third prequel Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith in 2005. In addition to the prequels, Lucas released the Special Editions for the Star Wars Original Trilogy in 1997, 2004 and 2011, for VHS, DVD and Blu-ray.

In 1987, the company, which at that time, was expanding from three to five films a year on its own, decided to increase making its Northern California production facilities available to other filmmakers.[17] In 1989, Lucasfilm launched a new subsidiary Lucasfilm Entertainment Group (later LucasArts Entertainment Company) to consolidate all four units, which are Industrial Light & Magic, Lucasfilm Commercial Productions, Lucasfilm Games, and Sprocket Systems.[18]

In 2005, Lucasfilm opened a new studio in Singapore.[19] That same year, Lucasfilm Animation commenced production of a 3D animated Star Wars television series called Star Wars: The Clone Wars, with key production team members including executive producer Catherine Winder, supervising director Dave Filoni, Head of Lucasfilm Animation Singapore Chris Kubsch, and Henry Gilroy.[20] Primary production took place at Lucasfilm Animation's Singapore studio.[21] Airing on Cartoon Network between 2008 and 2013, The Clone Wars was well received by fans and was nominated for several film awards including the Daytime Emmy Awards and the Annie Awards.[22][23][24]

In January 2012, Lucas announced his retirement from producing large-scale blockbuster films and instead re-focusing his career on smaller, independently budgeted features.[25][26] In June 2012, it was announced that Kathleen Kennedy, a long-term collaborator with Steven Spielberg and a producer of the Indiana Jones films, had been appointed as co-chair of Lucasfilm Ltd. It was reported that Kennedy would work alongside Lucas, who would remain chief executive and serve as co-chairman for at least one year, after which she would succeed him as the company's chairperson, which she did in June 2013.[27]

On July 8, 2012, Lucasfilm's marketing, online, and licensing units moved into the new Letterman Digital Arts Center located in the Presidio in San Francisco. It shares the complex with Industrial Light & Magic. Lucasfilm had planned an expansion at Skywalker Ranch in Marin County, California, but shelved the plan in 2012 due to opposition from neighbors. However, it still plans to expand elsewhere.[28] Skywalker Sound remains the only Lucasfilm division based at Skywalker Ranch.[29]

On September 5, 2012, Micheline Chau, who served as president and COO of Lucasfilm for two decades, announced that she was retiring. With her departure, senior executives for each of the Lucasfilm divisions would report directly to Kathleen Kennedy. Chau was credited with keeping the Lucasfilm and Star Wars brands strong, especially through animation spin-offs and licensing initiatives.[30]

Subsidiary of The Walt Disney Studios (2012–present)

Acquisition process

Discussions relating to the possibility of

Walt Disney Parks and Resorts worldwide.[34]

Alan Horn. Additionally, she serves as the brand manager for Star Wars, working directly with Disney's global lines of business to build, further integrate, and maximize the value of this global franchise. Kennedy serves as producer on new Star Wars feature films, with George Lucas originally announced as serving as a creative consultant.[35] The company also announced the future release of new Star Wars films, starting with Episode VII: The Force Awakens in 2015.[34]

Under the deal, Disney acquired ownership of Star Wars, Indiana Jones, and Lucasfilm's operating businesses in live-action film production, consumer products, video games, animation, visual effects, and audio post-production.

antitrust problems.[42] On December 18, 2012, Lucasfilm Ltd. converted from a corporation to a limited liability company (LLC), changing its name to Lucasfilm Ltd. LLC in the process.[43] On December 21, 2012, Disney completed the acquisition and Lucasfilm became a wholly owned subsidiary of Disney.[6][7]

At the time of Disney's acquisition of Lucasfilm,

20th Century Fox, the original distributor of the first six Star Wars films, were to retain the physical and theatrical distribution rights to both the prequel trilogy and Episodes V and VI of the original trilogy until May 2020, along with full distribution rights for the original 1977 film in perpetuity.[44] Lucasfilm retained the television and digital distribution rights to Star Wars Episodes I through VI with exception to Episode IV.[45] On March 20, 2019, Disney officially acquired 20th Century Fox after acquiring its owner, 21st Century Fox, thus consolidating all the distribution and ownership rights to all the films under its umbrella.[7] In December 2013, Walt Disney Studios purchased the distribution and marketing rights to future Indiana Jones films from Paramount Pictures, although the latter studio would retain the distribution rights to the first four films and would receive "financial participation" from any additional films.[46][47] This would make the fifth installment, Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny, become the first film in the franchise and Lucasfilm's first film overall to be co-produced by Walt Disney Pictures.[48]

Kathleen Kennedy era, 2012–present

In early 2013, Disney CEO Bob Iger disclosed Lucasfilm's plans to release standalone Star Wars films alongside the Sequel Trilogy over a six-year period.[49] This strategy aimed to expand the Star Wars universe beyond the main saga. The first of these standalone films, Rogue One, premiered in 2016, followed by Solo: A Star Wars Story in 2018.[50][51]

During April 2013,

LucasArts, the video game development division of Lucasfilm, underwent closure, resulting in layoffs for most of its staff.[52] Despite this, LucasArts maintained a small team to handle video game licensing. Disney subsequently entered an exclusive agreement with Electronic Arts (EA) to produce Star Wars games for the core gaming market for a decade. LucasArts retained licensing rights, while Disney Interactive Studios focused on casual gaming.[53][54]

In 2014,

Star Wars Expanded Universe content was rebranded as 'Legends,' with only selected works, including episodic films and The Clone Wars, deemed canon. Additionally, a new line of canon Star Wars books began publication under the Lucasfilm story group.[56]

Lucasfilm continued its expansion globally, opening its regional headquarters in Singapore in 2014.[19] This facility housed staff from Lucasfilm, The Walt Disney Company Southeast Asia, and ESPN Asia Pacific.[19] Meanwhile, between 2015 and 2018, Lucasfilm released several cinematic films, including critical and commercial successes like Episode VII: The Force Awakens and Rogue One, alongside the less successful Solo.[57][50][51]

After the mixed performance of Solo at the box office, Disney CEO Bob Iger confirmed a slow down in release of new Star Wars films.[58] Lucasfilm moved its focus on developing content for Disney+ by launching several programs including the successful series The Mandalorian series on Disney+.[59]

Company structure

Former divisions

Former subsidiaries of Lucasfilm are:

Name Description Current Status Details
Pixar Animation Studios Computer animation studio that was sold to Steve Jobs in 1986. Active It became a subsidiary of The Walt Disney Company in 2006, six years prior to Disney's acquisition of Lucasfilm in December 2012.
THX Theater sound system (spun off from Lucasfilm in 2002)[66] Active Creative Technology owned 60% of THX,[67] and then sold to Razer Inc. in 2016.
Kerner Optical Practical effects division (model shop) and 3-D development team (spun off from Industrial Light & Magic in 2006) Closed Subsequently went bankrupt in 2011[68]
Lucas Learning A spinoff of LucasArts for the development of educational software. Closed In 2001, Lucas Learning decided to leave the market and shut down this division.[69]
Lucas Online In house web development company that built and maintained the websites of the other Lucasfilm Ltd. companies and properties. Closed

Filmography

Franchises

Year Title Films TV Seasons
1973–1979 American Graffiti 2 0
1977–present Star Wars 12 28
1981–present Indiana Jones 5 3
1988–present Willow 1 1

References

  1. ^ Cohen, David (June 5, 2014). "Industrial Light & Magic President Brennan Promoted to General Manager of Lucasfilm Exec". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved June 7, 2014.
  2. ^ Lev-Ram, Michal (September 10, 2015). "How Star Wars producer Kathleen Kennedy went from secretary to boss". Fortune. Time. Retrieved December 30, 2015.
  3. ^ "Industrial Light & Film". Retrieved November 4, 2012.
  4. ^ a b "Walt Disney Company, Form 8-K, Current Report, Filing Date Oct 30, 2012". secdatabase.com. Retrieved May 13, 2018.
  5. ^ "Walt Disney Company, Form 10-Q, Quarterly Report, Filing Date May 7, 2013". secdatabase.com. Retrieved May 13, 2018.
  6. ^ a b Schou, Solvej (December 21, 2012). "Mickey + 'Star Wars' = Disney completes Lucasfilm acquisition". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved December 22, 2012.
  7. ^ a b c Lakritz, Talia (January 28, 2020). "14 companies you didn't realize Disney owns". Insider. Retrieved September 22, 2021.
  8. .
  9. ^ "Business Search - Business Entities – Business Programs – California Secretary of State". businesssearch.sos.ca.gov. Retrieved December 13, 2017.
  10. .
  11. Fox Television Studios
    /Lucasfilm. 2004. 17:30 minutes in.
  12. ^ Digiacomo, Frank (December 2008). "The Han Solo Comedy Hour!". Vanity Fair. Retrieved October 2, 2018.
  13. ^ a b Pollock, Dale (June 1983). "A Man and His Empire: The Private Life of 'Star Wars' Creator George Lucas". Life. pp. 94, 96.
  14. .
  15. ^ "Star Wars, George Lucas & A Disappearing Cello: The Story of THX Cinema Certification". February 21, 2017.
  16. .
  17. ^ "Multiple Divisions Jell In Bid To Become Ultimate Post-Prod Setup". Variety. June 3, 1987. p. 35.
  18. ^ "Lucasfilm forms group; consolidates four units (not pics)". Variety. May 17, 1989. p. 18.
  19. ^ a b c Weizhen, Tan (January 15, 2014). "PM Lee opens Lucasfilm's Sandcrawler building". TODAYonline. Retrieved June 13, 2018.
  20. ^ "StarWars.com at Comic-Con 2005". Star Wars: Community. July 12, 2005. Archived from the original on March 23, 2008. Retrieved November 6, 2018.
  21. ^ "Lucas on the Star Wars TV Projects". ComingSoon.net. August 2, 2005. Archived from the original on June 27, 2006. Retrieved November 6, 2018.
  22. ^ Franich, Darren (March 11, 2013). "Star Wars TV: Clone Wars canceled, Detours postponed". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved February 23, 2017.
  23. ^ "Star Wars: The Clone Wars Wins Two Daytime Emmy Awards". StarWars.com. Lucasfilm. June 17, 2013. Archived from the original on October 30, 2020. Retrieved February 13, 2021.
  24. ^ "38th Annie Awards". Annie Awards. Archived from the original on October 18, 2020. Retrieved February 13, 2021.
  25. ^ Fischer, Russ (January 17, 2012). "George Lucas Ready to Retire From Blockbuster Filmmaking". /Film. Retrieved January 17, 2012.
  26. ^ Yamato, Jen (January 17, 2012). "George Lucas Promises Retirement (From Blockbusters... Not Counting Indiana Jones 5)". Movie Line. Retrieved January 17, 2012.
  27. ^ Richard Verrier and Ben Fritz, "Kathleen Kennedy to helm Lucasfilm as George Lucas phases out", Los Angeles Times, June 2, 2012. Retrieved September 27, 2012.
  28. ^ Onishi, Norimitsu (May 21, 2012). "Lucas and Rich Neighbors Agree to Disagree: Part II". The New York Times. Archived from the original on May 24, 2012. Retrieved August 29, 2015.
  29. ^ Lev-Ram, Michal (November 1, 2015). "Behind the scenes at Lucasfilm's Skywalker Sound". Fortune. Retrieved November 2, 2015.
  30. ^ Kilday, Gregg (September 5, 2012). "Longtime Lucasfilm President and COO Micheline Chau Retiring". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on November 26, 2020. Retrieved February 13, 2020.
  31. ^ Leonard, David (March 7, 2013). "How Disney Bought Lucasfilm—and Its Plans for 'Star Wars'". Bloomberg Businessweek. p. 3. Retrieved June 6, 2013.
  32. ^ "Never mind about Star Wars 7. Who is going to be Bob Iger's No. 2?". Jim Hill Media. October 30, 2012. Retrieved November 1, 2012.
  33. ^ Burr, Ty (November 3, 2012). "What to expect when Disney buys 'Star Wars'". The Boston Globe. Retrieved November 4, 2012.
  34. ^ a b "Disney purchases Lucasfilm, announces new Star Wars". 3 News. October 30, 2012. Archived from the original on June 1, 2013. Retrieved October 30, 2012.
  35. ^ "New Star Wars Movies announced as Disney enters agreement to acquire Lucasfilm Ltd". starwars.com. Lucasfilm. October 30, 2012. Retrieved October 30, 2012.
  36. ^ Oldham, Stuart (October 30, 2012). "READ: Disney chief Bob Iger's internal memo to staff: 'Lucasfilm fits perfectly with Disney's strategic priorities'". Variety. Retrieved February 20, 2016.
  37. ^ Smith, Ethan (October 30, 2012). "Mickey, Darth Vader Join Forces in $4.05 Billion Deal". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved October 30, 2012.
  38. ^ "Fiscal Year 2013 Annual Financial Report and Shareholder Letter" (PDF). The Walt Disney Company. February 3, 2014. Archived from the original (PDF) on February 7, 2014. Retrieved April 17, 2015.
  39. ^ "Walt Disney Confirms J.J. Abrams Will Direct New 'Star Wars'". The Wall Street Journal. January 26, 2013. Retrieved January 26, 2013.
  40. ^ Sampson, Mike (October 15, 2015). "There Will Be No Disney Logo Before 'Star Wars: The Force Awakens'". ScreenCrush.
  41. ^ Acuna, Kirsten (November 9, 2012). "Here's What Disney CEO Bob Iger Says He Wants To Do With 'Star Wars'". Business Insider. Retrieved November 22, 2012.
  42. ^ Patten, Dominic (December 4, 2012). "Disney-Lucasfilm Deal Cleared By Feds". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved December 5, 2012.
  43. ^ "Business Search – Business Entities – Business Programs – California Secretary of State". businesssearch.sos.ca.gov. Retrieved December 13, 2017.
  44. ^ Masters, Kim (October 30, 2012). "Tangled Rights Could Tie Up Ultimate 'Star Wars' Box Set (Analysis)". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved November 12, 2012.
  45. ^ "The Walt Disney Company FY 2013 SEC Form 10-K Filing" (PDF). The Walt Disney Company. November 20, 2013. p. 13. Archived from the original (PDF) on August 27, 2017. Retrieved April 17, 2015. Prior to the Company's acquisition, Lucasfilm produced six Star Wars films (Episodes 1 through 6). Lucasfilm retained the rights to consumer products related to all of the films and the rights related to television and electronic distribution formats for all of the films, except for the rights for Episode 4, which are owned by a third-party studio. All of the films are distributed by a third-party studio in the theatrical and home video markets. The theatrical and home video distribution rights for these films revert to Lucasfilm in May 2020 except for Episode 4, for which these distribution rights are retained in perpetuity by the third-party studio.
  46. ^ Kroll, Justin (December 6, 2013). "Disney Takes Over Rights to 'Indiana Jones' Franchise". Variety. Retrieved December 6, 2013.
  47. ^ Faughnder, Ryan (December 6, 2013). "Disney acquires control of future 'Indiana Jones' movies". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved December 7, 2013.
  48. ^ Mazique, Brian (April 8, 2023). "The Indiana Jones And The Dial Of Destiny Trailer Is Viral". Forbes. Archived from the original on April 9, 2023. Retrieved April 8, 2023.
  49. ^ Zakarin, Jordan (February 5, 2013). "It's Official: 'Star Wars' Stand-Alone Films From Lawrence Kasdan, Simon Kinberg in Development". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved February 6, 2013.
  50. ^ a b Hughes, Mark (January 7, 2017). "How Disney And Dolby Brought 'Rogue One' To Historic Pantages". Forbes. Retrieved January 17, 2017.
  51. ^ a b McClintock, Pamela (May 3, 2018). "'Solo: A Star Wars Story' Tracking for Record $160M-Plus Memorial Day Bow". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on April 14, 2020. Retrieved May 4, 2018.
  52. ^ Shaw, Lucas (April 3, 2013). "LucasArts to Cease Making Games, Will Lay Off Most of Staff". The Wrap. Retrieved April 3, 2013.
  53. ^ "EA takes helm from LucasArts, will exclusively develop future 'Star Wars' games". The Verge. May 6, 2013. Retrieved May 6, 2013.
  54. ^ "We're probably all about EA". The International House of Mojo. May 6, 2013. Retrieved May 6, 2013.
  55. ^ Clark, Noelene; Blake Hennon (January 3, 2014). "'Star Wars' comics leaving Dark Horse, returning to Marvel in 2015". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved January 4, 2014.
  56. ^ McMillan, Graeme (April 25, 2014). "Lucasfilm Unveils New Plans for 'Star Wars' Expanded Universe". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved April 25, 2014. While Lucasfilm always strived to keep the stories created for the EU consistent with our film and television content as well as internally consistent, [Franchise creator George Lucas] always made it clear that he was not beholden to the EU,
  57. ^ McNary, Dave (April 17, 2013). "Star Wars Movies Coming in 2015, 2017 and 2019". Variety. Archived from the original on November 8, 2013. Retrieved May 26, 2013.
  58. ^ Belloni, Matthew (September 20, 2018). "Bob Iger Talks Disney's Streaming Service, 'Roseanne,' James Gunn and a Coming 'Star Wars' "Slowdown"". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved March 26, 2019.
  59. ^ Chitwood, Adam (July 12, 2019). "Exclusive: Jon Favreau Says He's Already Writing and Pre-Shooting 'The Mandalorian' Season 2". Collider. Archived from the original on July 12, 2019. Retrieved July 12, 2019.
  60. ^ Bilbao, Richard (September 12, 2018). "Disney to bring Wreck-It Ralph to its virtual reality attractions". Orlando Business Journal. Retrieved September 13, 2018.
  61. ^ "Games". Lucasfilm. Retrieved June 22, 2019.
  62. ^ Droege, DB (January 4, 2013). "The future of Star Wars comics under Disney". TG Daily. Retrieved January 6, 2013.
  63. ^ McMillan, Graeme (April 25, 2014). "Disney, Del Rey to Launch New 'Star Wars' Book Line". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved April 25, 2014.
  64. ^ DiLeo, Adam (January 7, 2014). "Lucasfilm Ltd. / 7 Jan 2014 Lucasfilm Story Group to Ensure Star Wars Continuity Across All Platforms". IGN. Ziff Daviis. Retrieved December 22, 2015.
  65. ^ Siegel, Tatiana (December 9, 2015). "Inside the 'Star Wars' Writers Room: Meet the 5 Architects of the Franchise". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved December 22, 2015.
  66. ^ Crabtree, Sheigh (June 12, 2002). "Lucas' THX stakes out new galaxy". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on August 11, 2002. Retrieved April 19, 2013.
  67. ^ Hoppel, Adrian (March 20, 2013). "Law & Apple: iFone Defeats iPhone, THX Targets Apple". MacLife. Retrieved April 19, 2013.
  68. ^ Shelby Hill, Steven Gaydos (September 30, 2011). "Accusations fly in Kerner bankruptcy". Variety. Retrieved April 19, 2013.
  69. ^ Macworld Staff (June 20, 2001). "Lucas Learning axes Mac game, exits consumer market". Macworld. Retrieved February 20, 2017.

External links