During a person's life, there are special moments that occur--events like baptisms, graduations, weddings, or the birth of children. These are events that define our lives and give us cherished memories. Well, this week I had one of those special moments. On Tuesday afternoon at 2:07 PM, as I was staring at a 2013 budget spreadsheet, my friend Eric came into my office. Our conversation went something like this:
Eric (while sitting down): Steve, I have something important to tell you.
Me: Is everything okay?
Eric: Yes. Did you hear the news?
Me: Um, did something happen in the presidential race?
Eric: No, I'm talking about the BIG news.
Me (with a heightened sense of alarm): No, I haven't heard.
Eric: Um. Disney just bought Star Wars for 4 billion dollars.
Me (with a head shake and look of disbelief): Shut up!
Eric: I'm serious. AND they are releasing Episode 7 in 2015!
Me (immediately after searching Google for "Disney buys Star Wars for 4 billion dollars"): Holy cow! You're right. This is amazing!
Then, as I contemplated the sheer awesomeness of the news, I swear that I heard fireworks going off, a marching band start playing the Imperial March in the distance, and an X-Wing soaring past my office window. As both a huge Disney and Star Wars fan, this was one of those special life moments (well, okay....maybe not, but it was still awesome)!
I understand that some may not be as excited by the news as I was (duh.), but I was surprised to see that some people reacted negatively to the news. To anyone who may have doubts or worry about what may happen to their beloved Star Wars franchise, have some faith. Disney wouldn't spend $4 billion to run Star Wars into the ground. Remember, these are the same people that brought us The Avengers just a few short months ago. I am very confident that Disney will help raise Star Wars to even higher heights of awesomeness.
One really cool part of the deal was the announcement today by George Lucas that
he would be donating most of the $4 billion to various charities. I am very impressed by Lucas's desire to help others. Clearly the deal was not strictly a financial one for him, and he wants to use his wealth to give back. Fans (including myself) may complain from time to time about George Lucas as a director, but I think he deserves all the praise we can offer for George Lucas as a man. George, thank you for Star Wars! And thank you for your example of charitable giving!
After hearing the news of the Disney purchase, I began to scour the internet ("scour" is a great word) for Star Wars/Disney mashups that I knew other internet users had surely created. Below are my favorites that I have found (original source links are below each picture). Enjoy and may the force be with you!
