"Lucas the Litigator" and Star Wars Mash-Ups

One of the more fascinating developments stemming from the 30th anniversary celebration of seminal sci-fi filmStar Wars is discussed in today's Wall Street Journal (sub. required). Star Wars creator George Lucas, has been known as a fierce defender of his intellectual property, hence his nickname "Lucas the Litigator." But starting tomorrow, Lucasfilm plans to make 250 clips from Star Wars available online at Starwars.com. Fans can take these clips and make "mash-ups" out of them, editing them with their own music to make new trailers, mini movies or whatever they want and post the new content on their MySpace pages or blogs. The site will provide its an editing program from San Deigo company EyeSpot. Per the WSJ:

In essence, Lucasfilm is going to legitimize and streamline a pastime that has become increasingly popular on the Web. A search for "Star Wars" on YouTube, for example, turns up some 98,000 results, many of them videos drawing on original content from the movies. But on third-party video sites, Lucasfilm executives "can't control it, and they can't monetize it," says Jim Kaskade, Eyespot's chief executive officer.

The upside for the franchise is obvious: with no more films coming out, this strategy keeps the series alive for fans and increases traffic to the website. Also, it will help to extend and promote Lucas entertainment on other platforms (a new Stars Wars vidgame, The Force Unleashed, and an animated TV series are due next year; a live-action TV series is planned for later). There will be rules, however, for how the content can be used--nudity, pornograph, etc. is striclty verboten and a team in Costa Rica (wow, outsourcing to Costa Rica?) will screen each video before it goes live.

The message that the rest of Hollywood should take from this? When it comes to intellectual property and the brave new world of digital, if you can't beat them, you might as well join them...on your own terms and on your website.

[Photograph by PhotoFest}