Alright, the tell-all is pretty straightforward and as I've said before, it documented Rinzler's experience there from 2001 to his eventual departure in 2017. However, because Disney took it down before it was finished, the tell-all only covers a bit of what happened after the buyout as the intro and the other 9 chapters cover a bit of SW history through the 80s to 2003. As such, there's still a huge amount of content missing, which we will likely not see for many years (if we're lucky), but what little there is and Rinzler's tone shows that the experience with Disney and Kennedy was not a pleasant one.
For those of you too lazy to read the tell-all, I'll just post the most notable tidbits in order of their reveal.
*George's kids weren't interested in running Star Wars.
*Everyone knew that a sale would one day happen regardless of profits or spending, but they figured George wouldn't cave in at least until 2022.
*George considered selling SW to Comcast and Sony was also considered, however George figured their "pockets weren't deep enough".
*Disney had always been the front-runner for a possible sale since George saw them as trustworthy ever since working on Star Tours with them decades ago.
*Kennedy was with George throughout the whole deal.
*Bob Iger was
"hell-bent" on getting as many properties as possible and he would not let this chance escape him.
*Many at Lucasfilm were not happy about this sale. 2000+ employees were forced to travel all the way to a warehouse in Burbank for briefing and whatnot. The email all employees received on that fateful day said this:
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*As they made their way into the warehouse, all employees were sad over the past and worried for the future, with many fearing they would lose their job (which many did...).
*Lucasfilm wasn't sunshine and rainbows even before Disney, but it wasn't bad and everyone admired George regardless of his decisions, most were simply happy just to be there. As such they feared what awaited them now that a corporate titan would be taking the place of their venerable mentor-figure. As such it was considered a safe-haven because of its creative companies.
*On that first day they all sat down in that empty warehouse on plastic folding chairs, with Mr. Rinzler surrounded by worried newbies and concerned veterans, like sfx giants such as Dennis Muren and Paul Huston. Some of these people had been with George and the company since the 70s. All were nervous when George and Kennedy would arrive and what questions would come.
*From there what little remains of the tell-all only covers Rinzler's experience at Lucasfilm until 2003 to show a contrast of how much things would change by the end.
However because Disney took down the blog, the rest never got published, but we know Rinzler has a completed version ready, so its just a matter of time until he either leaks the rest. However, in his podcast interview which I posted links to before, he points out how management under Disney was one of fear, control and paranoia. So I think we know there's nothing nice to say about them in the rest of the book, but I think we're all eager to find out what Kennedy said and what rules she enforced... Overall the rest of his experience is a good read for those interested in knowing what Lucasfilm was like before Disney outside of documentaries and interviews. Simply from an employee perspective.
To make up for this lack of content, WDW Pro (that Disney insider from some Disney forums) has revealed that Disney really is strapped for cash and that the first day opening of Disney parks were not only a disaster but Disney is losing big time not just because of the parks but because of postponing films and a possible loss of a Chinese market due to a possible cold war with China. And if Disney World is forced to close again the consequences would be
devastating.
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TL;DR The company is in turmoil and I am absolutely giddy over the Chaos.
