They are not made by journalists who have fact-checking departments behind them.
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.
I predict that IX has already bombed because of Kennedy, regardless of whether she will still be around a month from now or not.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'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.)
Well, from what I’ve heard they haven’t even sold a SINGLE ticket! :lolBased on...?
Based on...?
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.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....
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.)
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.
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.
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.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