A daily chronicle of creativity in film, TV, music, arts, and entertainment, produced by Southern California Public Radio and broadcast from November 2014 – March 2020. Host John Horn leads the conversation, accompanied by the nation's most plugged-in cultural journalists.
We all know the Star Wars movie is going to be huge, maybe the number one movie of all time before it’s all said and done. But the film is also setting records in terms of marketing tie-ins for products trying to hitch themselves to the rejuvenated Star Wars brand.
So I was sent to a local store and given a modest budget — this is public radio after all — to see how far the sales mania has gone.
Not that there’s anything wrong with that, George Lucas made millions off merchandising this movie before he sold it to Disney. Still, toys are one thing, and I’ve heard there are dozen and dozens of products now bearing the Star Wars logo.
After finding everything from "Star Wars" toothbrushes to soup (drat, the branded Cover Girl makeup was sold out), the final tab was about $90, but I could have spent at least twice that. While there was nothing completely obscene, I’d say the most egregious items were the lightsaber that shoots out a Hot Wheels race care, because light sabers don’t do that, and the M & M "Star Wars" candy dispenser, because there is nothing sweet about Darth Vader.