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RUMOR: Kathleen Kennedy to step down in 2021

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  • Oct 30th, 2019 7:56 pm
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Rant away. LOL

Saddest thing for me is knowing that none of us here will be around to see the end of Star Wars. Star Wars is a way of life and it is part of anthropology. As long as you procreate for the next generation and generations to follow at least they will enjoy Star Wars in the future. Smiling Face With Sunglasses
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It's only fitting she is forced to step down. She wasn't exactly kind to others who under-performed at Disney. She got more chances than anyone else. I doubt at this point anyone knows how to get attendance up with anything related to Star Wars.
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2 years too late
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Is it not possible that it might be her decision to step away from Star Wars because she is tired of it after 5 films? Her production filmography is so varied that it would be surprising if she didn't look for a change at some point.

Filmography
Raiders of the Lost Ark (associate to Steven Spielberg, 1981)
Poltergeist (associate producer, 1982)
E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (producer, 1982)
Creepshow (associate producer, segment: "The Crate", 1982)
Twilight Zone: The Movie (associate producer, segment 2, 1983)
Gremlins (executive producer, 1984)
Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (associate producer, 1984)
The Color Purple (producer, 1985)
Young Sherlock Holmes (executive producer, 1985)
Back to the Future (executive producer, 1985)
The Goonies (executive producer, 1985)
Fandango (executive producer, 1985)
An American Tail (executive producer, 1986)
The Money Pit (producer, 1986)
*batteries not included (executive producer, 1987)
Empire of the Sun (producer, 1987)
Innerspace (co-executive producer, 1987)
The China Odyssey: 'Empire of the Sun', a Film by Steven Spielberg (associate producer, 1987)
The Land Before Time (co-executive producer, 1988)
Who Framed Roger Rabbit (executive producer, 1988)
Always (producer, 1989)
Back to the Future Part II (executive producer, 1989)
Dad (executive producer, 1989)
Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (associate producer, 1989)
Tummy Trouble (executive producer, 1989)
Arachnophobia (producer, 1990)
Gremlins 2: The New Batch (executive producer, 1990)
Roller Coaster Rabbit (executive producer, 1990)
Back to the Future Part III (executive producer, 1990)
Joe Versus the Volcano (executive producer, 1990)
Hook (producer, 1991)
An American Tail: Fievel Goes West (executive producer, 1991)
Cape Fear (executive producer, 1991)
A Brief History of Time (uncredited executive producer, 1991)
A Wish for Wings That Work (executive producer, TV, 1991)
Noises Off (executive producer, 1992)
Schindler's List (executive producer, 1993)
We're Back! A Dinosaur's Story (executive producer, 1993)
A Dangerous Woman (executive producer, 1993)
Jurassic Park (producer, 1993)
A Far Off Place (executive producer, 1993)
Trail Mix-Up (executive producer, 1993)
Alive (producer, 1993)
Milk Money (producer, 1994)
The Flintstones (executive producer, 1994)
Balto (executive producer, 1995)
The Indian in the Cupboard (producer, 1995)
Congo (producer, 1995)
The Bridges of Madison County (producer, 1995)
Twister (producer, 1996)
The Best of Roger Rabbit (executive producer, 1996)
The Lost World: Jurassic Park (executive producer, 1997)
A Map of the World (producer, 1999)
Snow Falling on Cedars (producer, 1999)
The Sixth Sense (producer, 1999)
Olympic Glory (executive producer, 1999)
Jurassic Park III (producer, 2001)
A.I. Artificial Intelligence (producer, 2001)
The Sports Pages (executive producer, TV, 2001)
Signs (executive producer, 2002)
The Young Black Stallion (executive producer, 2003)
Seabiscuit (producer, 2003)
Munich (producer, 2005)
War of the Worlds (producer, 2005)
Persepolis (executive producer, 2007)
The Diving Bell and the Butterfly (producer, 2007)
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (producer, 2008)
Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (executive producer, 2008)
Ponyo (U.S. version co-producer, 2009)
The Last Airbender (executive producer, 2010)
Hereafter (co-producer with Clint Eastwood, Robert Lorenz & Steven Spielberg, 2010)
The Adventures of Tintin (producer, 2011)
War Horse (producer, 2011)
The Secret World of Arrietty (U.S. version executive producer, 2012)
Lincoln (producer, 2012)
Star Wars: The Force Awakens (producer, 2015)
The BFG (executive producer, 2016)
The Girl on the Train (uncredited executive producer, 2016)
Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (producer, 2016)
Star Wars: The Last Jedi (producer, 2017)
Solo: A Star Wars Story (producer, 2018)
Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker (producer, 2019)
Untitled Indiana Jones fifth film (producer, 2021)
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Deal Expert
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...are we reporting rumors now?

lets not start the disney parade until its confirmed.
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badOne wrote: I doubt at this point anyone knows how to get attendance up with anything related to Star Wars.
See, Disney wanted to take what was old and established and bring in new characters (and cheaper actors).

The problem is the backlash from The Last Jedi has caused them to rethink the strategy and that's why we are getting the return of more familiar faces.

I am kind of surprised we didn't see more #GIRLBOSS stuff but maybe Kathleen Kennedy understands that the fanbase probably wouldn't pay to watch that kind of stuff.
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I think the thing with Star Wars is they want it to be Marvel. The thing with Marvel is they have decades upon decades of material to draw on. It's one of the best part of using comics for sources, they've been at it for a while.

It would of mildly been cool had they done some of the extended universe star war wars stuff, but the cast was to old to do alot of the best stuff (thrawn trilogy).

That's my thoughts... Star Wars universe doesn't have the host of prior material to draw from.... Some old EU stuff, but alot of that stuff wasn't very good either....
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zod wrote: I think the thing with Star Wars is they want it to be Marvel. The thing with Marvel is they have decades upon decades of material to draw on. It's one of the best part of using comics for sources, they've been at it for a while.

It would of mildly been cool had they done some of the extended universe star war wars stuff, but the cast was to old to do alot of the best stuff (thrawn trilogy).

That's my thoughts... Star Wars universe doesn't have the host of prior material to draw from.... Some old EU stuff, but alot of that stuff wasn't very good either....
I can understand that Marvel has a lot more material to draw on and they can more easily separate their good stuff from the crap. But, and this is my opinion alone, Star Wars under Disney has been so substandard in quality that I can vomit on printer paper and come up with a better story than they have. There's really plenty of material in EU. And I'm no EU fanboy - there's lots in EU that I find crap, repetitive, and boring. But there's also good stuff. Disney didn't have to continue with EU. Just pick and chose storylines and story elements. Change the names perhaps. I agree that the OT leads are too old (or too dead) to continue with their adventures but certainly Disney can do better than bores like Kylo Ren, Finn, Poe, Snoke, etc (OK, I kind of like Rey). Off the top of my head, the Darth Caedus storyline in EU was pretty good - they could have worked with that instead of inventing Kylo.
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badOne wrote: It's only fitting she is forced to step down. She wasn't exactly kind to others who under-performed at Disney. She got more chances than anyone else. I doubt at this point anyone knows how to get attendance up with anything related to Star Wars.
Last I checked, they are raking in tons with this franchise.
The bigger truth is that non-Disney productions are really struggling because they are simply not able to match up.

As always, by design, Star Wars is meant for kids and the world and values they are experiencing.
If the original trilogy was released in the internet era, the knives would have been drawn, nitpicking over everything and anything. Fortunately, it was released in an era where garbage productions were par for the course, and people were much much more forgiving and way less entitled.

Frankly - I don't think many kids had too many problems with this new trilogy. For those that did, I fully expect it is due to mimicking man-child discontent they encountered online. Basically - shitty role models. For those of you who believe Kathleen Kennedy ruined your childhood, perhaps it is simply time to grow up? Getting hot and bothered over a fantasy universe is pretty lame, though totally in sync with the times we are living in.

Myself - I'm looking forward to seeing how this trilogy wraps up in December, as well as the new TV series.
Will not be kicking and screaming in the process. No matter what happens, nothing will ever be as bad as the Holiday special, or those two TV Ewok movies.
"When someone is burning a book, they are showing utter contempt for all of the thinking that produced its ideas, all of the labor that went into its words and sentences, and all of the trouble that befell the author . . .” ― Lemony Snicket
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I don't doubt at all the franchise is making money since they bought out Lucas. But it is underperforming by their own expectations. They paid a lot for Fox and Star Wars was supposed to be their cash cow.
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badOne wrote: I don't doubt at all the franchise is making money since they bought out Lucas. But it is underperforming by their own expectations. They paid a lot for Fox and Star Wars was supposed to be their cash cow.
True, but they must of broken even by now? Box office takes for the first 3 movies, streaming rights, streaming/ad revenue for the cartoons, blurays, merchandise etc.... ?
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That a product makes money doesn't mean that it's good. Disney must have forgotten about that. Marvel makes money and their movies are good. Disney's Star Wars makes money and their movies are rubbish. Any reasonable person must be able to see the difference between the two.
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DiceMan wrote: That a product makes money doesn't mean that it's good. Disney must have forgotten about that. Marvel makes money and their movies are good. Disney's Star Wars makes money and their movies are rubbish. Any reasonable person must be able to see the difference between the two.
It appears some people do not fully comprehend that the criticism is not a by-product of man-child manifestations but instead a criticism of not properly handling the franchise regardless of who was in it or what story line they wanted to go with. Marvel on the other hand, had their plan, adjusted as needed and brought it altogether in a pretty good manner. What could have been with Star Wars has been squandered under Kennedy's helm. Hopefully moving forward, new story arks will be handled better. Seeing that creative people are coming over from Marvel is a good start.
Seeing Kennedy go will be even better.

On the topic that Star Wars is for children. Is it? Some would argue that certain comic book stories are for kids. Look how studios have handled the "maturity" of those stories. I am not buying Star Wars was made exclusively for children. Batman was a cartoon and goofy 60's tv series at one point. The recent Joker film is quite a departure from that, yet still works. Actually, quite well. Why can't we expect the similar treatment for Star Wars?
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mrtvgame wrote: On the topic that Star Wars is for children. Is it?
The answer is a blatantly obvious YES.

https://www.polygon.com/2017/4/13/15288 ... elebration
Star Wars creator George Lucas took the stage at Star Wars Celebration today to remind people that the series has always been for children.

Lucas told actor Warwick Davis, who was moderating the event’s opening panel, that Star Wars was always intended to be enjoyed by “12-year-olds.” He went on to admonish critics for “being mean” and talk about what Star Wars stands for in his mind.

“Friendships, honestly, trust, doing the right thing, living on the right side and avoiding the dark side,” Lucas said. “Those are the things it was meant to do.”

Lucas said that while certain fans and critics can be overly critical of the movies — with the prequel trilogy garnering overwhelmingly negative attention in particular — seeing children enjoy the movies that he’s created is a reminder of why he started to begin with.

Lucas brought up a memory from shooting a scene from one of the prequel movies in Spain, and seeing the “thousands” of Star Wars fans line up to meet him.

“There were all these tiny kids,” Lucas said. “They were all reaching their hands out, and they had no idea what was happening, but all they wanted to do was touch my hand.

“That’s all I’ve ever wanted, and it reminds me why I continue to do it.”
Unfortunately, some children never grew up, strangely feel entitled towards the franchise, and keep insisting it MUST adhere to their standards. If it doesn't, clearly it must be blown up like a death star.

Meanwhile, kids very much still enjoy the new movies, despite the frothing of adults who have clearly been seduced by the dark side.
I'd bet the moisture farm that the most critical are bitter men who don't have kids.
As such, they are not able to experience how magical (and relevent) these new movies are for current kids.

The funny thing is - when the original movies came out, there were bitter older people who mocked it as nonsense, unable to grasp how special it was for kids.

Queue "Cats in the Cradle".
"When someone is burning a book, they are showing utter contempt for all of the thinking that produced its ideas, all of the labor that went into its words and sentences, and all of the trouble that befell the author . . .” ― Lemony Snicket
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shikotee wrote: The answer is a blatantly obvious YES.

https://www.polygon.com/2017/4/13/15288 ... elebration



Unfortunately, some children never grew up, strangely feel entitled towards the franchise, and keep insisting it MUST adhere to their standards. If it doesn't, clearly it must be blown up like a death star.

Meanwhile, kids very much still enjoy the new movies, despite the frothing of adults who have clearly been seduced by the dark side.
I'd bet the moisture farm that the most critical are bitter men who don't have kids.
As such, they are not able to experience how magical (and relevent) these new movies are for current kids.

The funny thing is - when the original movies came out, there were bitter older people who mocked it as nonsense, unable to grasp how special it was for kids.

Queue "Cats in the Cradle".
Yawn. You have not added anything to the conversation except continuing to make biased generalized judgements about people. We get it, you adore Kennedy and what she has done. * You seem to have missed that once Lucasfilm was sold, George's opinions no longer matter.

On the other hand, there are those of us who see life in a more critical lens.

Nobody is suggesting they are entitled. We are asking for something half decent, something in line with let's say Marvel, not the tripe that has been rolled out.

Oh and I do have 2 kids and they could care less for the new films. They prefer the others and have been vocal about it without any prompting from myself. They enjoyed the Marvel Universe, all 10 years of it.

If your only argument, which it appears that way, is to call everyone man-babies because they criticize what they see, then maybe you have some growing up ahead of you. No?

Keep supporting garbage and that is all you will get. But hey, you seem fine with that. Enjoy munching on those turds! :rolleyes:
Last edited by MrDisco on Oct 30th, 2019 11:09 am, edited 1 time in total.
Reason: don't be rude. it's just a movie
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I'm not sure if it's just me, but some people seam amazingly skilled at making content that appeals to kids and adults. Both demographics are able to pull different things from the movies. I think the Marvel movies do that well. I don't think you need to make the movies so they cater to one or the other. It's not impossible to do both.
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shikotee wrote: The answer is a blatantly obvious YES.

https://www.polygon.com/2017/4/13/15288 ... elebration



Unfortunately, some children never grew up, strangely feel entitled towards the franchise, and keep insisting it MUST adhere to their standards. If it doesn't, clearly it must be blown up like a death star.

Meanwhile, kids very much still enjoy the new movies, despite the frothing of adults who have clearly been seduced by the dark side.
I'd bet the moisture farm that the most critical are bitter men who don't have kids.
As such, they are not able to experience how magical (and relevent) these new movies are for current kids.

The funny thing is - when the original movies came out, there were bitter older people who mocked it as nonsense, unable to grasp how special it was for kids.

Queue "Cats in the Cradle".
This is just George Lucas editing history like having Greedo shoot first. The first two movies do not pander to children nearly as much as the 3rd (I still consider myself a fan of Jedi) or the prequels do. George was smart to get a hold on merchandising , but I don't think he realized just how much money it would generate. Once the money started coming in from that source Star Wars became more about the kids because it meant more $$$$.

That doesn't mean I think George was specifically targeting adults either. I think initially George wanted Star Wars to be accessible to young and old.
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zod wrote: I'm not sure if it's just me, but some people seam amazingly skilled at making content that appeals to kids and adults. Both demographics are able to pull different things from the movies. I think the Marvel movies do that well. I don't think you need to make the movies so they cater to one or the other. It's not impossible to do both.
It really is quite amazing when you can appeal to both demographics.
Frankly - what Marvel has pulled off is very spectacular.

Besides Star Wars, my next favourite childhood series was classic Doctor Who.
It was a show primarily designed for kids, but also for adults.
The same has been the case for new Doctor Who.
I loved Eccleston and Tennant, and have slowly felt meh since.
Am I disappointed - yes, very much so
Am I angry - no
I accept that I have tastes that are not always universal, and I don't feel so entitled that the show must always meet my standards. Lots of people have enjoyed Smith, Capaldi, Whittaker, as have I (for a few episodes).
I don't feel hell bent to hammer away at every flaw I perceive because I accept people have different tastes, and not every thing can be a home run.

MCU has really been special, but frankly, you'd have to be delusional to believe that this can be the case all the time.

So sad that SW fans who have been seduced by the dark side have forgotten that the central theme of SW is forgiveness.
"When someone is burning a book, they are showing utter contempt for all of the thinking that produced its ideas, all of the labor that went into its words and sentences, and all of the trouble that befell the author . . .” ― Lemony Snicket
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At least Kathleen's boss Bob Iger was big enough to defend Marvel movies after both Martin Scorsese and Francis Ford Coppola criticized the films for not being "cinema" and "despicable".

https://www.wsj.com/articles/disney-chi ... 1571804492

https://www.wsj.com/video/disney-ceo-bo ... 94E09.html


The only reason Scorsese and Coppola didn't say anything bad about Lucasfilm is because George Lucas and them go way back.

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