As you might suspect, there is a lot of work that goes into a major acquisition like the $4 billion purchase of Lucasfilm by Disney. And nothing happens in big business these days without a bevy of lawyers getting involved. That’s just the way it is. But according to a great story in the Hollywood Reporter, Disney would have lost touch with The Force without the talents of Brian McCarthy, and a team from Skadden Arps who were faced with the galactic task of determining if George Lucas actually owned the rights to Han Solo, Lando Calrissian and about 10,000 characters and details from the Star Wars expanded universe.
“To sort through them all, he assembled a legal team of bona fide Star Wars fans. ‘I tried to find people in the office who … didn’t have to spend time figuring out who Princess Leia was,’ recalls McCarthy. ‘I was shocked by how many people knew the intricacies of whose father-in-law was married to whose sister.’”
They eventually determined all the rights were held by Lucasfilm, except for the film distribution rights, which are owned by 20th Century Fox. Good thing Star Wars nerds are plentiful.
Read the whole article.