Kathleen Kennedy to step down from Lucasfilm (after 2021)?

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Re: Kathleen Kennedy to step down from Lucasfilm?

I still think that if Rian had 6 months more, TLJ would have gone from a good film, to a great film.
 
Re: Kathleen Kennedy to step down from Lucasfilm?

They are not made by journalists who have fact-checking departments behind them.

Wow. I remember those days...



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Re: Kathleen Kennedy to step down from Lucasfilm?

Maybe it's 74 pages too late, but I'd like to hear what people think if we remove all opinions and TLJ angst from the conversation and just focus on the two FACTS that we can judge Kennedy on.

1. Of the four Lucasfilm entries she's produced under her tenure, one has bombed.

2. Of the people she has hired to oversee Star Wars films, more than half have been fired or otherwise replaced. The Solo directors most recently, Rogue One's reshoots were written and directed by somebody other than Gareth Edwards, Colin Treverrow was fired from Episode 9 and his script was tossed out completely, Josh Trank's unnamed Star Wars project was also pulled.

These things are TRUE.

Given that, is this enough for Disney to find her incapable of the job? If this were some other industry, would that track record stand?

On the first point, having 1 in 4 movies fail seems bad on the surface when you consider it a quarter of the entire output. But that said, three out four films being a hit is a pretty good track record for any studio. The special consideration too, is given the scope of the SW brand, Disney is just as concerned about brand saturation as they are box office, possible more so. I think there would be need to be at least one big or two medium sized failures for this to count against her.

On the second point, one could easily say Trank and Treverrow were fired because of their behavior and/or performance of the films they did in the interim. Some might say KK headed off disaster before it happened-- but I can promise you that both of these men were paid significant sums on the front end. A good boss's primary skill is hiring the right people and managing them. So despite whatever these guys may have done, it's on her to precipitate the problems. She went after guys with smaller indy hits-- admirable for vision, but anyone can see that they wouldn't be used to the process of a top tier film.

Trank was known to be difficult well before FF blew up in his face.

I've been on the other side of meetings and a lot of time you get hired for your ideas and confidence-- so we can't easily say she hired people that were not qualified, but it was part of the tapestry and a good boss should know what they are getting into.

As far as I am concerned, this is the only legit criticism that can be leveled at Kennedy. But as long as the brand is profitable, I don't think these things are enough to get her fired.
 
Re: Kathleen Kennedy to step down from Lucasfilm?

Maybe it's 74 pages too late, but I'd like to hear what people think if we remove all opinions and TLJ angst from the conversation and just focus on the two FACTS that we can judge Kennedy on.

1. Of the four Lucasfilm entries she's produced under her tenure, one has bombed.

2. Of the people she has hired to oversee Star Wars films, more than half have been fired or otherwise replaced. The Solo directors most recently, Rogue One's reshoots were written and directed by somebody other than Gareth Edwards, Colin Treverrow was fired from Episode 9 and his script was tossed out completely, Josh Trank's unnamed Star Wars project was also pulled.

These things are TRUE.

Given that, is this enough for Disney to find her incapable of the job? If this were some other industry, would that track record stand?

On the first point, having 1 in 4 movies fail seems bad on the surface when you consider it a quarter of the entire output. But that said, three out four films being a hit is a pretty good track record for any studio. The special consideration too, is given the scope of the SW brand, Disney is just as concerned about brand saturation as they are box office, possible more so. I think there would be need to be at least one big or two medium sized failures for this to count against her.

On the second point, one could easily say Trank and Treverrow were fired because of their behavior and/or performance of the films they did in the interim. Some might say KK headed off disaster before it happened-- but I can promise you that both of these men were paid significant sums on the front end. A good boss's primary skill is hiring the right people and managing them. So despite whatever these guys may have done, it's on her to precipitate the problems. She went after guys with smaller indy hits-- admirable for vision, but anyone can see that they wouldn't be used to the process of a top tier film.

Trank was known to be difficult well before FF blew up in his face.

I've been on the other side of meetings and a lot of time you get hired for your ideas and confidence-- so we can't easily say she hired people that were not qualified, but it was part of the tapestry and a good boss should know what they are getting into.

As far as I am concerned, this is the only legit criticism that can be leveled at Kennedy. But as long as the brand is profitable, I don't think these things are enough to get her fired.

That's about where I come out on this. Has she made mistakes? Absolutely. Trank and, to a lesser extent, Trevorrow are good examples. To my way of thinking, though, Lord & Miller is absolutely the most egregious example.

She hires two guys known for improv-based comedy to make a Star Wars film....and then fires them when they deliver exactly what she hired them for? Really? Then they have to basically reshoot the entire movie just months before, and hire one of the preeminent directors in an entire generation AND an elder statesman in the industry to come save their bacon? That all had to be insanely expensive as screw-ups go. And granted, the end product is apparently not that bad at all, maybe even pretty good (I still haven't seen it), but the process getting to it undoubtedly damaged its profitability.

So, go ahead and level whatever criticism you like about her story decisions (or decisions of those she hired to do the stories). The real issue at the end of the day -- the one that will get her fired -- is if she fails to deliver for the company and their shareholders. If the brand remains profitable -- and it's largely been profitable so far -- then she's fine. If it takes a dive, then you'll see her endangered in her job. But the notion that the hardcore fans' boycott is actually making a difference is as much a pipe dream as the notion that hardcore fans' fandom is enough to warrant an archival OOT release at 4k. If the new films fail, if the old films are re-released in such a format, it will be for bigger reasons than the hardcore fans. And I say that as a hardcore fan myself, who really, really wants the OOT released officially, and who thinks it's bonkers that they haven't done so already. (Except for the fact that I know general audiences can't even tell what I think is an obvious and egregious difference.)
 
Re: Kathleen Kennedy to step down from Lucasfilm?

I agree with the above, and anyone who puts forth any criticisms other than this is doing so only because they already have a bias against her, IMO.
 
Re: Kathleen Kennedy to step down from Lucasfilm?

Of the four Lucasfilm entries she's produced under her tenure, one has bombed.
I predict that IX has already bombed because of Kennedy, regardless of whether she will still be around a month from now or not.

That is, unless we get an extraordinary surprise in-between that gets the buzz up, among hardcore and casual fans alike. But that would not be an easy feat.
 
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Re: Kathleen Kennedy to step down from Lucasfilm?

That's about where I come out on this. Has she made mistakes? Absolutely. Trank and, to a lesser extent, Trevorrow are good examples. To my way of thinking, though, Lord & Miller is absolutely the most egregious example.

She hires two guys known for improv-based comedy to make a Star Wars film....and then fires them when they deliver exactly what she hired them for? Really? Then they have to basically reshoot the entire movie just months before, and hire one of the preeminent directors in an entire generation AND an elder statesman in the industry to come save their bacon? That all had to be insanely expensive as screw-ups go. And granted, the end product is apparently not that bad at all, maybe even pretty good (I still haven't seen it), but the process getting to it undoubtedly damaged its profitability.

So, go ahead and level whatever criticism you like about her story decisions (or decisions of those she hired to do the stories). The real issue at the end of the day -- the one that will get her fired -- is if she fails to deliver for the company and their shareholders. If the brand remains profitable -- and it's largely been profitable so far -- then she's fine. If it takes a dive, then you'll see her endangered in her job. But the notion that the hardcore fans' boycott is actually making a difference is as much a pipe dream as the notion that hardcore fans' fandom is enough to warrant an archival OOT release at 4k. If the new films fail, if the old films are re-released in such a format, it will be for bigger reasons than the hardcore fans. And I say that as a hardcore fan myself, who really, really wants the OOT released officially, and who thinks it's bonkers that they haven't done so already. (Except for the fact that I know general audiences can't even tell what I think is an obvious and egregious difference.)

It was Lawrence Kasdan who didn't like the what the first directors were doing. And being friends with her for nearly 40 years, I'm sure she was very willing to listen to him. After all Solo was kind of Lawrence's pet project.
 
Re: Kathleen Kennedy to step down from Lucasfilm?

Based on thousands of fans of the OT who are disgusted with what RJ and KK wanted and depicted in TLJ. It's not rocket science....
Those thousands dont counteract the millions that will see it with their kids and such who dont really care about fake agendas and conspiracy theories and the #jakeskywalker people.


The casual fan is who Disney/Lucasfilm is more concerned with, and in the end that's who they cater too.

It may not do marvel money when it comes out due to backlash, but itll still make money and the bottom line is what disney looks at.
 
Re: Kathleen Kennedy to step down from Lucasfilm?

That's about where I come out on this. Has she made mistakes? Absolutely. Trank and, to a lesser extent, Trevorrow are good examples. To my way of thinking, though, Lord & Miller is absolutely the most egregious example.

She hires two guys known for improv-based comedy to make a Star Wars film....and then fires them when they deliver exactly what she hired them for? Really? Then they have to basically reshoot the entire movie just months before, and hire one of the preeminent directors in an entire generation AND an elder statesman in the industry to come save their bacon? That all had to be insanely expensive as screw-ups go. And granted, the end product is apparently not that bad at all, maybe even pretty good (I still haven't seen it), but the process getting to it undoubtedly damaged its profitability.

So, go ahead and level whatever criticism you like about her story decisions (or decisions of those she hired to do the stories). The real issue at the end of the day -- the one that will get her fired -- is if she fails to deliver for the company and their shareholders. If the brand remains profitable -- and it's largely been profitable so far -- then she's fine. If it takes a dive, then you'll see her endangered in her job. But the notion that the hardcore fans' boycott is actually making a difference is as much a pipe dream as the notion that hardcore fans' fandom is enough to warrant an archival OOT release at 4k. If the new films fail, if the old films are re-released in such a format, it will be for bigger reasons than the hardcore fans. And I say that as a hardcore fan myself, who really, really wants the OOT released officially, and who thinks it's bonkers that they haven't done so already. (Except for the fact that I know general audiences can't even tell what I think is an obvious and egregious difference.)

The thing is that we're hardcore fans and the ones who're pissed enough to boycott are only a fraction of us. Even if you call it half of hardcore fandom, which I do not think is accurate, you're still only talking about a fraction of a fraction of the folks who will (or won't) see this in a theater.
 
Re: Kathleen Kennedy to step down from Lucasfilm?

Those thousands dont counteract the millions that will see it with their kids and such who dont really care about fake agendas and conspiracy theories and the #jakeskywalker people.


The casual fan is who Disney/Lucasfilm is more concerned with, and in the end that's who they cater too.

It may not do marvel money when it comes out due to backlash, but itll still make money and the bottom line is what disney looks at.

And they are doing a great job.:lol

Sure..jpg
 
Re: Kathleen Kennedy to step down from Lucasfilm?

Well according to the last flop, it's the millions of fans response to a terrible film, TLJ. If you don't have the pulse of the OT fans, they aren't buying tickets for themselves or their children.

As far as I'm concerned how dare they...
 
Re: Kathleen Kennedy to step down from Lucasfilm?

We are now 2 generations removed from the ot. The prequels relied on the ot with a built in fanbase, now they've got a whole new generation of fans built from the ot,prequels, clone wars cartoon, rebel among others.


The strength of the ot fan is not as mighty as it once was. Just like the lands they are building at the themeparks, they arent building those for the ot fans. They are building them for the mainstream casual fan that doesn't dissect every little nuance of the films or who decorated their desk with what.
 
Re: Kathleen Kennedy to step down from Lucasfilm?

We are now 2 generations removed from the ot. The prequels relied on the ot with a built in fanbase, now they've got a whole new generation of fans built from the ot,prequels, clone wars cartoon, rebel among others.


The strength of the ot fan is not as mighty as it once was. Just like the lands they are building at the themeparks, they arent building those for the ot fans. They are building them for the mainstream casual fan that doesn't dissect every little nuance of the films or who decorated their desk with what.

And this new generation is really getting behind Disney Star Wars with their wallets.:lol

Hmm.jpg

Sure.....jpg
 
Re: Kathleen Kennedy to step down from Lucasfilm?

Put all the "quirky" pictures you want with snarky filename, but guess what in 2018 toys sales do not dictate the financial future of a franchise like they did in 1981.


There are games, digital content, clothing, school supplies and many other things that show a brand strength. All things with less overhead than walmarts toy aisles.
 
Re: Kathleen Kennedy to step down from Lucasfilm?

And while we are talking about how great Disney are doing, this popping up this morning is great timing. Imagine spending nearly 4.5 Billion and you cant even show the movies that are the real money makers on your streaming service until 2024 and even then its not a given :lol. We will see how they go without needing the old fans and just relying on the stuff they are putting out.

 
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Re: Kathleen Kennedy to step down from Lucasfilm?

And while we are talking about how great Disney are doing, this popping up this morning is great timing. Imagine spending nearly 4.5 Billion and you cant even show the movies that are the real money makers on your streaming service until 2024 and even then its not a given [emoji38]. We will see how they go without needing the old fans and just relying on the stuff they are putting out.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g_yEsxRzhaw
If the YouTube bio includes a link to merch then it's obviously going to be sensationalized in order to gain traffic for such merch.


Just out of curiosity does all of your information come from YouTube?
 
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