Lets talk all things Star Wars

[Psab keel]

That “wingman” clip posted earlier is quite good. Thanks for that.

What they achieved rivals ANY of the space action (or lack thereof) I've seen in a long, long time from anything delivered from Lucasfilm. Seriously the camera angles, the flight manuevers... It's an incredible achievement and sets the bar for fan films WAY up. It had more space action than the Prequels, and this was made for the love of the story and setting. Nothing more. I'm not much for fan films. I don't have anything against them per se- they just don't interest me. But this one was a very welcome exception to that.

 

[pengbuzz]

What they achieved rivals ANY of the space action (or lack thereof) I've seen in a long, long time from anything delivered from Lucasfilm. Seriously the camera angles, the flight manuevers... It's an incredible achievement and sets the bar for fan films WAY up. It had more space action than the Prequels, and this was made for the love of the story and setting. Nothing more. I'm not much for fan films. I don't have anything against them per se- they just don't interest me. But this one was a very welcome exception to that.

Yeah; I really liked his speech near the end about them losing their kindness and compassion. It was heart-wrenching to hear and drove the point of what they were fighting for home.

 

[ID10T]

The tone was dark and serious- not a bad thing, but not a good fit for the typical (or historic?) target audience- the 12 year old kid.

I think if it was lightened up a bit and some of the really dark bits (like the above mentioned speech) removed, it would work.

 

[Riceball]

Does anyone remember this gem of a toy? I don't and I'm old enough to remember all of those toys of made up vehicles that got released in the years after Jedi was released.

 

[Halliwax]

I believe I remember these…

 

[Sluis Van Shipyards]

I remember getting way too into the new POTF2 stuff when it came out and buying everything. I bought that cruise missile thing and immediately thought "Why did I buy this?" It might have been cool if you could put a figure in it instead of having a pilot head pop up.

 

[BlandoCalrssian]

I loved that one. I always played with it with the pilots head retracted, and used it like a Star Destroyer.

 

[Solo4114]

I mostly just bought POTF2 stuff that I'd never had a chance to get when I was a kid in the 80s. I still have it sealed in the box. Got Luke's X-wing, Vader's TIE, the Falcon, and an AT-AT, as well as an A-wing just sitting in my basement all sealed up.

 

[Joek3rr]

I mostly just bought POTF2 stuff that I'd never had a chance to get when I was a kid in the 80s. I still have it sealed in the box. Got Luke's X-wing, Vader's TIE, the Falcon, and an AT-AT, as well as an A-wing just sitting in my basement all sealed up.

I always remember being head over heels for those vehicles. We had local hobby store and they had the POTF2 X-wing. Rebelscum.com: Photo Archive

I can remember trying to talk my dad into every time we went to the store. But he never caved. In hindsight that X-wing wasn't all that hot. The second release was a lot better looking. Rebelscum.com: Photo Archive

The only vehicle I ever got was this one. Rebelscum.com: Photo Archive I think I had some birthday gift cards and I had gotten an Obi-Wan earlier. So when I saw this at Walmart I bought. The thing was they never made the correct stickers for it. So they came with stickers for Anakin's ship.

 

[Solo4114]

I was old enough that when The Phantom Menace came out, I was a college kid. I didn't have TONS of money, but I did have some. And when that film came out, stores were liquidating all their prior POTF2 materials to make way for the big new toy bonanza that was predicted to follow.

So I went on a shopping spree and basically filled a cart with all the big-ticket items I could find.

There was a little kid walking thru the store with his mom who looked longingly over at the cart I was pushing.

 

[Sluis Van Shipyards]

I ended up giving all my figures I collected (through ROTS) to my nephew when he was 3. So he had so many SW toys it was ridiculous. I would get him like ten Stormtroopers of each type because I only ever had one. I always saw the ads or the in store displays that had multiple and wanted more!

 

[batguy]

There was a little kid walking thru the store with his mom who looked longingly over at the cart I was pushing.

Today that kid is like 35 years old. Time flies.

 

[Jodo]

I ended up giving all my figures I collected (through ROTS) to my nephew when he was 3. So he had so many SW toys it was ridiculous. I would get him like ten Stormtroopers of each type because I only ever had one. I always saw the ads or the in store displays that had multiple and wanted more!

That is what we call a “slippery slope.”

 

[dascoyne]

It seems Iger really might have stepped in another big one when he publicly spearheaded a boycott of investor ads against Elon Musk's X. After publicly cursing out "Bob" in an interview it seems like Elon is now bankrolling Gina Carano's lawsuit against Disney for firing her as well as announcing he will financially back anybody else with a similar claim against Disney. Normally, this wouldn't be a big deal, but this suit was strategically announced to coincide with the next shareholder meeting at a time where Disney and it's IPs seem to be striking out everywhere.

Interestingly, Carano isn't trying to gouge Disney for money. She only wants to be back in Star Wars and for Disney/Lucasfilm to reinstate their contractual obligations to have her in upcoming problems. I don't think that is too much to ask.

 

[Solo4114]

At least with respect to Carano, Bob Iger is just fine.

Her lawsuit is absurd and destined to fail.

First, 10 to 1 says that the contract had a "good conduct" clause. This is Disney. They don't play. You mouth off online, they'll fire you.

Second, the contract probably has an arbitration clause that will require it to be arbitrated rather than litigated. The Federal Arbitration Act generally requires that, when your agreement has such a clause, courts don't have jurisdiction over the case. It has to go to arbitration. And once it goes there, it dies. Musk loses any benefit to backing it, because arbitration is a black box and he won't generate publicity from it. Disney can pay off Carano some pittance amount to make her go away, without it becoming a headline, too. Or they can just bleed her out over time because they've got waaaay deeper pockets than her (especially once Musk bails).

Third, the relief called for is...uh....not a thing. Compensatory damages are. Punitive damages are. Specific performance to re-hire you? Um....yeah, don't think that's a real thing guys. The same way we don't have indentured servitude in this country, we don't have forced hiring.

Carano's suit is just headline bait. It's dead on arrival.

 

[dascoyne]

At least with respect to Carano, Bob Iger is just fine.

Her lawsuit is absurd and destined to fail.

First, 10 to 1 says that the contract had a "good conduct" clause. This is Disney. They don't play. You mouth off online, they'll fire you.

Second, the contract probably has an arbitration clause that will require it to be arbitrated rather than litigated. The Federal Arbitration Act generally requires that, when your agreement has such a clause, courts don't have jurisdiction over the case. It has to go to arbitration. And once it goes there, it dies. Musk loses any benefit to backing it, because arbitration is a black box and he won't generate publicity from it. Disney can pay off Carano some pittance amount to make her go away, without it becoming a headline, too. Or they can just bleed her out over time because they've got waaaay deeper pockets than her (especially once Musk bails).

Third, the relief called for is...uh....not a thing. Compensatory damages are. Punitive damages are. Specific performance to re-hire you? Um....yeah, don't think that's a real thing guys. The same way we don't have indentured servitude in this country, we don't have forced hiring.

Carano's suit is just headline bait. It's dead on arrival.

Regardless, it is something that is announced prior to a shareholder meeting which, no doubt hurts, regardless of the merits of the claim or the viability of a potential suit.

Musk's objective more likely seems to be to hit Iger/Disney with bad press by pelting the company with lawsuits like this from everybody who believes they were fired from Disney for unjust cause. Headline bait is what gives folks, like Nelson Pelz, some additional support for his play to get seats on the Disney board. c.f. restorethemagic.com

 

[Solo4114]

I don't think Musk has an actual strategic goal, other than perhaps to boost his own publicity by backing people he supports. That's it.

I doubt this has much impact on the Disney board structure or share price. There are much bigger issues that Disney's facing right now than Gina Carano's Elon-Musk-funded nuisance suit.

 

[Rawktrooper]

I'm sure Carano talked to a few lawyers about the contract before she filed the suit. No doubt they have copies and such. The problem is that other costars also stood up for her at the time, and if there was any personal talk about it on Twitter by any that were staff members or producers etc, then she may have a solid defamation or wrongful termination case. My understanding is they also cut her out of residuals, profit sharing, and all kinds of licensing stuff.. so thats part of the casting or recasting issue.

 

[dascoyne]

I don't think Musk has an actual strategic goal, other than perhaps to boost his own publicity by backing people he supports. That's it.

I doubt this has much impact on the Disney board structure or share price. There are much bigger issues that Disney's facing right now than Gina Carano's Elon-Musk-funded nuisance suit.

I wouldn't be so quick to dismiss Musk as a simple megalomaniac. But that is a different discussion altogether. While it could be the case that Musk only wants to be a fly in Iger's soup, also consider this.

The current Disney board has been described by insiders as being comprised of Bob Iger and a number of "yes-persons".* For that reason Nelson Peltz (Trian Partners) with the backing of Ike Perlmutter (remember him?), have been trying to get a couple of seats on the Disney board because Peltz is of the opinion that Disney has gone astray, and Iger is not acting in the best interest of the shareholders. That part is no secret.

Iger characterizes their move as purely vindictive. However, I would point out that Peltz (and Perlmutter) have bigger stakes in Disney's financial success as they represent $3 billion worth of Disney stock (compared to Bob Iger's $110 million after he sold 49% of his shares in 2021). You may disagree with their opinions about how the company should be run, but I would not question their motives. **

I want to also point out that Iger's compensation for 2023 was $31 million, which is more than double the $15 million he gave himself in 2022 despite the rocky state of Disney IPs and the consequent layoff of over 4000 Disney employees.

There are rumors of Elon Musk support of Peltz's current push (as well as rumors about Musk wanting to ultimately purchase Disney). Admittedly I haven't researched the substance behind those claims yet. I've only seen some headlines, and we know how "dependable" those can be. Still, I wouldn't be surprised if that were the case because I would guess that their values seem to be more in alignment and, at the very least, they have a common adversary in Bob Iger.***

Any news that could shake shareholder faith in Bob Iger's leadership only works in the interest of Nelson Peltz's current push. The announcement of lawsuits against Disney arising from an allegedly hostile internal ideological culture would certainly add fuel to that fire, wouldn't you agree?

So, regardless of the merits of the claim or the viability of a potential suit, the announcement itself which coincides with the upcoming shareholder meeting in April, is clearly a strategic boon for Peltz, and it just so happens to be financially backed by his ally, Musk.




*references can be provided in a separate discussion about Disney's board structure. Of course "insider information" still should be taken with a grain of salt. BTW, here's an interesting article from October 2023 that lays some groundwork https://www.wsj.com/business/media/...-seats-boosted-by-perlmutters-shares-a91f121e

**I would suggest taking a look at Nelson Peltz's website Disney has Underperformed | #RestoreTheMagic at Disney where his objectives and interests are laid out.

***Disney Board Fight: Blackwells Floats Real Estate Spinoff, Slams Peltz

Elon Musk hints at buying Disney and funds lawsuit against studio

He has challenged the entertainment group and was seen at a premiere with a fellow billionaire linked to efforts to oust its chief

www.thetimes.co.uk

 

[batguy]

The Carano lawsuit is mainly interesting as evidence for Disney's bad management. It won't have legal muscle but it helps draw attention to Disney's general dysfunction in the press.

Musk? He's trolling Diseney. I see no other motive. South Park finally called them out and made it trendy to dunk on them. The amounts of money involved don't have enough zeroes for Musk to have a serious interest.