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October 05, 2006
Revenge of Jedi Daddy: Lucas thinks smaller
George Lucas started saying it back in April and now he's saying it in Variety: the tentpole era of the studios that he ushered in is over. Reports David S. Cohen: "George 
Lucas has a message for studios that are cutting their slates and shifting toward big-budget tentpoles and franchises: You've got it all wrong.... [S]mall films and Web distribution are the future." Lucasfilm is quitting the movies, to put his money where his mouth is. "We don't want to make movies. We're about to get into television. As far as Lucasfilm is concerned, we've moved away from the feature film thing because it's too expensive and it's too risky. I think the secret to the future is quantity..." Lucas "gave $175 million -- $100 million toward the endowment, $75 million for buildings -- to his alma mater. But he said that kind of money is too much to put into a film." For the dosh it takes and produces to make and market a massive movie, "For that same $200 million, I can make 50-60 two-hour movies. That's 120 hours as opposed to two hours. In the future market, that's where it's going to land, because it's going to be all pay-per-view and downloadable. You've got to really have a brand. You've got to have a site that has enough material on it to attract people." [More cherrypicking vision things at the link.]
Posted by Ray Pride at October 5, 2006 02:44 PM
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