????盧卡斯影業(yè)公司（Lucasfilm）宣布，將公司出售給沃特?迪士尼公司（Walt Disney）。消息一經發(fā)布，便一石激起千層浪，引發(fā)的整體效應與《星球大戰(zhàn)》（Star Wars）里的死星引起的星球爆炸相去無幾：萬千影迷的心靈受到強烈震撼。誰會料想盧卡斯影業(yè)會被賣掉呢？主攻家庭娛樂的迪士尼居然不僅要把科幻王國皇冠上的鉆石攬入麾下，還會把定于2015年上映的新《星球大戰(zhàn)》系列第一部收入囊中。

????此舉與迪士尼公司首席執(zhí)行官兼總裁鮑勃?伊戈爾的戰(zhàn)略完全吻合：買下贏家，任其自由發(fā)展，然后通過自己龐大的、包括有線電視在內的國際發(fā)行網絡運作買來的內容，賺取更大利潤。2009年，迪士尼用40億美元買下驚奇娛樂公司（Marvel Entertainment）。這筆交易在今年結出了碩果：票房高達15億美元的巨片《復仇者聯盟》（The Avengers）橫空出世。2006年，迪士尼還斥資74億美元，買下了《玩具總動員》（Toy Story）的制作公司皮克斯動畫工廠（Pixar Animation Studios）。伊戈爾告訴《財富》網站（Fortune.com）：“這次我會用同樣的辦法在盧卡斯影業(yè)上大做文章。”

????在目前的電影市場上，除非擁有最大名鼎鼎的巨星——詹姆斯?邦德或蝙蝠俠，否則很難賺錢。而盧卡斯影業(yè)恰恰為迪士尼提供了一堆現成的寶貴素材。今年夏天，電影行業(yè)的收入出現了七年來的首次下降，降至42.7億美元，比去年同期減少了3%。更糟糕的是，售出的電影票降至約5.32億張，比2011年夏天減少了4%——觀影人數創(chuàng)下1933年以來電影旺季的最低記錄。和所有電影公司一樣，迪士尼也被迫減少了投資。而在已經擁有大批狂熱影迷的電影上大筆投入則非常精明。

????而且，《星球大戰(zhàn)》還擁有更為強大的影迷陣容：父母輩的影迷。1999年，《星球大戰(zhàn)前傳》三部曲的第一部上映時，排隊買票的隊伍中擠滿了已為人父母的影迷們。他們在青少年時代就是這部電影的忠實影迷，現在則把它推薦給自己的孩子們。好萊塢電影網站Hollywood.com的分析師保羅?德加拉比迪恩稱，這是史上最偉大的“跨代營銷時刻”之一（網上有大量的視頻和博客，教父母們如何向孩子們推介這部電影。）本文開頭和后面的照片中就是“星球大戰(zhàn)盛會”（Star Wars Celebration）這些影迷大會的歡聚場景，它們吸引著成千上萬的忠實影迷，也是星傳系列薪火相傳的圣地。

????至于這筆交易的時機，盧卡斯表示他會把收益捐給慈善機構。如果盧卡斯本人出任執(zhí)行制片，那重拍《蝙蝠俠》系列的克里斯多夫?諾蘭，或執(zhí)導《星際迷航》（Star Trek）的J.J.艾布拉姆會來執(zhí)導嗎？這些都有先例。《星球大戰(zhàn)》系列中最受影評家好評的《帝國反擊戰(zhàn)》（The Empire Strikes Back）就不是盧卡斯本人導演的。

????The collective effect of Lucasfilm's announced sale to Walt Disney (DIS, Fortune 500) was not unlike the planet-size explosion caused by the Death Star in the original Star Wars: Minds were blown. Not only will the family-friendly firm control the crown jewel of nerddom -- who knew it was even for sale? -- but the first of a new batch of Star Wars films is already due in 2015.

????The move fits into Disney CEO and chairman Bob Iger's strategy: Buy winners, leave them alone, then wring greater profits from them by running content through the company's massive international distribution network, including its cable channel. In 2009, Disney bought Marvel Entertainment for $4 billion, a deal that resulted in this year's $1.5 billion blockbuster The Avengers. Three years earlier, Disney bought Pixar Animation Studios, maker of Toy Story, for $7.4 billion. "I'm going to do this one the same way," Iger told Fortune.com.

????Lucasfilm will furnish Disney with a trove of valuable material at a time when only the most recognizable franchises -- your James Bonds or Batmans -- are certain to turn a profit. This summer, box-office revenues fell for the first time in seven years, to $4.27 billion, down 3% compared with last year. Worse, the number of tickets sold shrank to about 532 million, down 4% from summer 2011 -- the smallest audience movies have attracted since 1993 during their busiest months. Disney, like all studios, is forced to place fewer bets. A bet on films with an already avid fan base is smart.

????And Star Wars has something even more powerful behind it: dads (and moms). When the first film of the second trilogy came out in 1999, ticket lines were packed with parents who had been fans in their youth, introducing the series to their sons and daughters. Hollywood.com analyst Paul Dergarabedian says it was one of the greatest "transgenerational marketing moments" in history. (There is a thriving world of web videos and blogs dedicated to advising parents on introducing their kids to the franchise.) Fan conferences like the Star Wars Celebration, photographed above and in the following gallery, attract tens of thousands of devotees and are prime grounds for indoctrination.

????As for the timing of the deal, Lucas says he is donating the proceeds to charity. With Lucas acting as executive producer, could Christopher Nolan, who rebooted the Batman franchise, or J.J. Abrams, who remade Star Trek, be lured to direct? There is a precedent. The most critically acclaimed of all the Star Wars films, The Empire Strikes Back, was not directed by Lucas.