Return of the Jedi: Still No Profits?

According to David Prowse, he’s yet to receive a residual check from the third (or sixth) Star Wars movie. For those not “into Hollywood,” this is a pretty common practice for accountants to massage the numbers so movies never make a profit on paper, even though people like George Lucas make enough money that they could buy up a small continent.

David recently won critical acclaim playing yours truly despite his battle with prostate cancer.

7 replies on “Return of the Jedi: Still No Profits?”

  1. To give George Lucas credit where it’s due, he got the merchandising rights for the Star Wars movies precisely for this reason.

    Now, if Prowse isn’t getting any royalties for the plethora of Darth Vader action figures out there, than Lucas can ESAD.

    • Correction – unless it’s Hasbro’s fault, in which case they can ESAD – and I’m already unhappy with them due to their handling of WotC PDF sales in relation to their current piracy lawsuit

    • This has to do with royalties from the film itself, nothing else.

      What they’re saying is, despite it’s blockbuster run in the 80’s and it’s nearly-as-epic rerelease in 1997, that this film hasn’t made a penny. Just the film.

      What they do is ramp up marketing costs, production costs, and various other “costs” so that the film’s cost and revenue balance to exactly zero. No profit, no loss. Just zero. Now one movie in a thousand, we could buy, but it’s nearly every freaking film made! Zero.

      Remember that stink with Peter Jackson and New Line a year or two back? Same crap.

      • Oh, I don’t disagree that Hollywood Accounting is completely full of shit (pardon my language), and that there should be Congressional investigations of this, and possibly even the IRS should try to find ways to stop this little tax dodge (and that’s what I suspect it really is – a tax dodge).

        I’m just saying that we shouldn’t lay all the blame at the feet of George Lucas – more that the blame (and subpoenas) should be laid at 20th Century Fox’s door.

        • I disagree, it should be laid equally at the feet of EVERYONE involved. Producers, directors, publishers, all of them.

      • Actually, most films are actual Losers. For the same causes you cite, but it doesn’ total zero, it is negative. Which would strongly imply that Hollywood studios would be going out of business regularly. Yet it doesn’t happen. Little independent production companies go out of business for exactly the reason every other small business does. But the big guys, once they reach a certain size, have enough consultants, independent contractors, independent operating divisions (think Enron), and “above the line” payees that they can “legitimately” claim to not have any money left after all else is done. There is never anything left in the Net.

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