Better late than never. I've been lax covering this story which I believe to be the entertainment story of the century.
Both Disney and Fox shareholders approved the sale.
https://variety.com/2018/biz/news/21st-century-fox-disney-merger-shareholder-vote-1202888023/I was actually surprised that the Fox people didn't hold out for more money. They felt (maybe rightly) that the Disney library with Fox distribution is a match made in heaaven. I can't emphasize how massive this is and will be when the sale is completed in early 2019. All of us of a certain age think of Disney in terms of Mickey Mouse and princess movies. The era of Fantasia is gone. Disney now controls every Marvel movie, Star Wars, Virtually every Pixar gem, and to top it off they control Bart Simpson. If your kids are under 10 and watching a film I'd wager it a Disney controlled piece.
Disney is so bonkers out of control with content... think this through... They are
actively trying to make Star Wars a franchise for girls.
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-film-starwars-women-analysis-idUSKBN0TX1J720151214I guess it's a little tough to think Leia now ranks with Ariel and Belle. But Disney is so all powerful in content they think they can take the all-male nerd stuff from the 80s and turn it into "girl-cool" in this era. Just imagine a company buying GI Joe and deciding it should be the girl franchise. This is nothing short of insane.
Maybe you've seen a Disney movie recently. With this acquisition films like
Slumdog Millionaire or
The Shape of Water will be the property of Disney. It sure feels like
Juno and
The Black Swan aren't exactly in line with
Steamboat Willie but that's the world we will live in.
This kind of came to a head in our family. I took my nephews to see
Age of Ultron and we left arguing about whether Hulk or Thor is stronger (obviously the Hulk is stronger and we don't need to argue about it here but the boys were wrong and picked Thor). But stop and think... Every character the kids around me love is Disney. Hulk, Thor, Iron Man, Luke Skywalker, Nemo, Beast, Mickey, Tow Mater, Cinderella, etc. and they even control some more adult characters now. Beyond Bart Simpson Disney will control Archer. Holy shit snacks!
All that and I haven't mentioned the sports. Fox Sports and ESPN will be under one roof?
I think this is one of the biggest acquisitions in history and it's kind of page 6 news.