The Marvel purchase, like the $7.4-billion deal Iger negotiated in 2006 to bring Pixar into the Disney fold, is another sign that Disney’s top brass realizes that the company’s reign as an original creative engine for mass entertainment is over. Once an idea factory full of brilliant animators and imagineers, Disney is now a mass merchandising machine in search of exploitable product, whether it comes from Marvel, Pixar or DreamWorks, which will be releasing its upcoming slate through Disney as well.

— Patrick Goldstein (via Anne Thompson), August 31, 2009

Released August 29, 1929

* We’ll start with the good news. It’s been a very good summer, money wise, at the movies. In fact, the best ever…well, skyrocketing ticket prices help, but still.

* Nikki Finke might have had 11 updates to her initial post about the purchase, but she’s already moved on to bad blood in the Writers’ Guild election and, of course, her latest snit. This time, she’s furious about a new system of Oscar voting in which voters will name list the films in order of preference, so that a film with a huge number of second choices could beat a nominee with most first choices, if you follow. Typically, Anne Thompson‘s view is more sanguine. Personally, I think it will just underline the Academy’s inherent conservatism in choosing winners. Those of you hoping for “Inglourious Basterds” to be Best Picture were just dealt a serious blow. Since when was being the year’s Best Picture had that much to do with actually winning it?

* Of course, even as a good chunk of L.A. burns — a summertime tradition around these parts — and even our TV and radio transmitters, and the historic Mt. Wilson observatory are threatened, there’s no stopping the fannish speculation from the both the comic book/movie fan crossover world and more established bloggers. Christopher Campbell chronicles both today. Personally, I’m having some second thoughts on my own politically-based negativity about it this morning, though overall media consolidation is a real problem in terms of limiting the “marketplace of ideas.” This is just far from the worst example.

* And, on the heels of this comes talk of another early franchise reboot, this time of the Fantastic Four. Okay, but if they’re really like to save some money and offer mainstream audiences something that will really surprise and delight them, I believe a finished film is still sitting in the can, all ready to go.