Disney and Lucasfilm Venture Set : To Build Attraction at Disneyland Based on ‘Star Wars’ Films

Walt Disney Productions said Wednesday that it has reached agreement with Lucasfilm Ltd. to develop a new attraction for Disneyland based on producer George Lucas’ “Star Wars” films. The attraction is scheduled to open at the Anaheim park in the summer of 1986, Disney officials said.

The announcement, made by Disney Chairman and Chief Executive Michael D. Eisner during the annual shareholders meeting at the Anaheim Convention Center, confirms reports published last December that Burbank-based Disney was discussing such a venture with the film maker.

At the meeting, Frank Wells, president and chief operating officer, also detailed plans to develop 10,000 acres of the company’s vast Florida acreage surrounding Disney World and Epcot Center, with a master plan slated for completion by midyear.

The Disney executives also disclosed that they are considering the construction of a “major studio tour” on the Florida property, although Eisner said after the meeting that “we haven’t committed to it yet.”

Public Offering Due

Richard A. Nunis, president of Disney’s theme park divisions, said company officials have not decided whether they would build sound stages in Florida or whether the studio tour would be made “part of Epcot or a separate gated attraction.”

Eisner confirmed published reports that Disney intends to finance its motion picture production through a public limited partnership offering valued at $100 million, expected to commence in May. If approved by the Securities and Exchange Commission, the offering will be managed by Silver Screen Partners, which raised $83 million for film financing two years ago in a deal fostered by Home Box Office Inc., the pay-TV subsidiary of Time Inc.

Unlike the first Silver Screen offering, however, The Times has learned that investors will not be guaranteed a 100% return on their investment, regardless of the success or failure of the films. Without that guarantee, investors are more likely to be eligible for tax write-offs.

More than 6,000 shareholders and employees attended the first annual meeting held since Eisner and Wells were named to the top posts last September. More than 87% of the shareholders also voted in person or by proxy, signifying “the largest shareholder return in the history of the company,” according to Doris A. Smith, the company’s secretary.

The meeting opened with a short film, featuring several animated Disney characters and headlines culled from the last year, to recount Disney’s fight to repel two unwelcome takeover bids. Bursts of music from the William Tell overture introduced the new management team hired in September. The tongue-in-cheek film omitted any reference to Ronald W. Miller, Walt Disney’s son-in-law who resigned as chief executive under pressure from the board.

The audience reserved its loudest applause for Roy E. Disney, the son of company co-founder Roy O. Disney who allied with the Bass family of Fort Worth to appoint Eisner and Wells last September.

Although the Bass family controls about 25% of the company’s stock, eclipsing the Disney heirs’ holdings, none of the Basses attended the meeting, according to a family friend. Nor was the Bass name mentioned until two hours had elapsed, when a shareholder asked how he could be assured that Disney can ward off corporate raiders in the future.

Wells, calling attention to the Basses’ stake, said they “do not seek to run this company” and “they have also said they are long-term investors.”

Disney officials reported that their search for a European site for a new Disney theme park has narrowed in the last week to Spain and France. Wells assured shareholders that the company intends to finance “nothing more than a small part” of the European venture.

Eisner said the new Disneyland attraction “will involve an innovative ride based on (Lucas’) ‘Star Wars’ creations, and it will utilize technologies never seen before in a Disney theme park.” In a press release, the company indicated that Lucas has agreed to develop more than one attraction and said the film maker “may become involved in other areas of Disney entertainment.”

In response to a reporter’s questions after the meeting, Eisner said Lucas will not contribute any of the funds required to build the new attraction. The chairman declined to say how Lucasfilm will participate in the profits, and he also declined to say how much the project is expected to cost.

In another development, Disney announced that it is taking steps to list its common stock on the Tokyo Stock Exchange.