KK to Remain Head of Lucasfilm through 2021

by AceofWands Thu 07 Jun 2018, 5:02 pm

Mod Note: the title of this thread has been updated. As of 9/28/18 it has been reported that Kennedy's contract with LF was extended through 2021. Source: https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/heat-vision/star-wars-chief-kathleen-kennedys-lucasfilm-deal-extended-three-years-1147653

Some sites are posting that there has been a rumour that Kathleen Kennedy might leave Star Wars.

https://movieweb.com/kathleen-kennedy-leaving-lucasfilm-star-wars/

They all come from a single source, and I don't know if it's credible.

I wouldn't want KK to leave because I think she's one of the most experienced executive producers out there. The amount of quality blockbusters under her production is no joke. Also, maybe yeah, I like to see a woman on the helm of Lucasfilm. Plus I like the continuity with George Lucas. It would be weird to have a random dude/dudette who had never had a working relationship with Lucas.

OTOH, I think those are rumours. But then maybe not. Yes, changing directors for Solo was a good call, as the movie is well received. But then, the biggest reason for the insane budget were the reshoots. Who in their right mind calls Lord and Miller for a SW movie?

I watched the Lego Ninjago movie, (based on a series with Eastern influence), and they ruined it. It might have been the worst movie I've seen in many years. It's just horrible, horrible, I mean cringeworthy horrible, when the TV series is super cute and very interesting. I hated the Lego Movie, and hated Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs. These are all movies with jokes that aren't funny. So why would anyone call them for a SW movie just boggles my mind.

(If you're wondering why I watch so many kids movies, it's because I have a 10-year-old).

So KK has made some decisions that weren't good.

Colin Trevorrow, for example. Really? WTF? And while the damage has been solved before stuff got worse, it delayed and rushed writing for IX.

So maybe she has been screwing up. OTOH, this is just a rumour.

by californiagirl Thu 07 Jun 2018, 5:09 pm

It would be a really weird time for her to leave. It would just further empower the horrible part of the fandom that thinks having a woman in charge ruined everything, that the SJWs need to leave SW, and so on. The future of SW is already somewhat nebulous, as we have very few details about upcoming movies and TV shows, this would just look even more reactionary and a possible sign of major studio instability. And there is already so much negativity going around, this would make it worse, not better. At least let her stay through IX and finish this trilogy off.

by twilekempire Thu 07 Jun 2018, 5:19 pm

I hope this isn't true. But I'm worried; why isn't Disney stepping up to quash this rumor and beat back the bad press? They're just sitting back and letting the talk get more and more negative. It's unwise. If they aren't replacing her, then they should support her. If they are replacing her, then do it with as much class as possible and focus on going forward in a good direction.

by AceofWands Thu 07 Jun 2018, 5:34 pm

californiagirl wrote: It would just further empower the horrible part of the fandom that thinks having a woman in charge ruined everything, that the SJWs need to leave SW, and so on. The future of SW is already somewhat nebulous, as we have very few details about upcoming movies and TV shows, this would just look even more reactionary and a possible sign of major studio instability. And there is already so much negativity going around, this would make it worse, not better. At least let her stay through IX and finish this trilogy off.

@californiagirl

Yeah, I think they should at least wait for the ST to end before firing her (if such a plan exists).

I worry about these rumours being spread right at this time, when we had evidence of some sexism and bigotry.

twilekempire wrote:I hope this isn't true. But I'm worried; why isn't Disney stepping up to quash this rumor and beat back the bad press? They're just sitting back and letting the talk get more and more negative. It's unwise.

@twilekempire

Disney hasn't stepped up to do anything, and hasn't appointed anyone at LF to dismiss negativity.

by californiagirl Thu 07 Jun 2018, 5:38 pm

twilekempire wrote:I hope this isn't true. But I'm worried; why isn't Disney stepping up to quash this rumor and beat back the bad press? They're just sitting back and letting the talk get more and more negative. It's unwise. If they aren't replacing her, then they should support her. If they are replacing her, then do it with as much class as possible and focus on going forward in a good direction.

@twilekempire

They also let the narrative of plotgate roam wild and free. They didn't confirm or deny Simon Pegg saying TLJ slightly undid Rey's intended parentage. They really like their mysteries, don't they? I think we'll hear something within the next couple of months, before IX starts filming.

by twilekempire Thu 07 Jun 2018, 5:51 pm

californiagirl wrote:
twilekempire wrote:I hope this isn't true. But I'm worried; why isn't Disney stepping up to quash this rumor and beat back the bad press? They're just sitting back and letting the talk get more and more negative. It's unwise. If they aren't replacing her, then they should support her. If they are replacing her, then do it with as much class as possible and focus on going forward in a good direction.
@twilekempire

They also let the narrative of plotgate roam wild and free. They didn't confirm or deny Simon Pegg saying TLJ slightly undid Rey's intended parentage. They really like their mysteries, don't they? I think we'll hear something within the next couple of months, before IX starts filming.

@californiagirl

I don't get it. I mean, what do I know about the industry? But I live in California and it's a known thing that they basically own Anaheim and they go gangbusters against anyone who steps up to them, though thankfully their attempted locking out of the Los Angeles Times after they reported on the Anaheim situation wasn't allowed to stand by other news outlets. Why are they so placid and weak about letting this devolve? Bring out the sharp elbows and do something!

by snufkin Thu 07 Jun 2018, 6:24 pm

@twilekempire I am nowhere near Anaheim and it's a known fact here, especially after the LAT coverage of how they've tried to pack the city council and mayoral races there. That part of the State is a de facto company town.

Maybe I just have PTSD from the 2016 elections and how the media covered a female candidate who didn't apologize for being successful and ambitious. And KK has a track record in that industry when it comes to what films she's produced which would put other producers with her longevity to shame. Media coverage and rumors are less about what's going on BTS and more about how our society treats womens' success and power with more conditions than they do for men (anybody saying Colin Trevorrow is over after BoH?). Especially in that industry given all the stories about everything Patty Jenkins went through between the time she made Monster and then made Wonder Woman. The best part is that anybody who dislikes the choices she's made for the franchise and is clamoring for her departure is going to be in a for a big surprise when it happens because more than likely you'd see Rayne Roberts or Kiri Hart stepping up to take her place.

by AceofWands Thu 07 Jun 2018, 6:27 pm

On Disney stepping out about this, I'm thinking it's damned if I do, damned if I don't logic.

If they come out and say anything, they'll just give credibility to a rumour that started in a newsletter.

by Forsythia Thu 07 Jun 2018, 7:46 pm

californiagirl wrote:It would be a really weird time for her to leave. It would just further empower the horrible part of the fandom that thinks having a woman in charge ruined everything, that the SJWs need to leave SW, and so on. The future of SW is already somewhat nebulous, as we have very few details about upcoming movies and TV shows, this would just look even more reactionary and a possible sign of major studio instability. And there is already so much negativity going around, this would make it worse, not better. At least let her stay through IX and finish this trilogy off.

@californiagirl

Yeah, I think the timing would be bad, because the haters would see this as endorsement of their behaviour. She should at least stay until IX, because if there's a change of leadership now, there might be even more chaos in the production. What if the new person wants to change everything and there'd be another rewrite of IX?

I am worried the rumour might be true, because the situation is so out of hands and the easiest way to calm the mob would be a change in Lucasfilm. Also, the creators and LF people on Twitter have been so defensive about TLJ all the time and not acknowledged any criticism, which I thought was weird, because if you are confident that your film is well-received by the majority, there's no need for this, and recently they seem all so edgy. And for all their talk about how they value the artist's vision over fanservice, they still want to make money and if they now fear IX could bomb like Solo, they might like to play it safe again.

If Kennedy leaves now after all the toxicity, I don't know if I want to stay in this fandom any longer. I wasn't aware of the bullying of Jake Lloyd until a few years ago and was so horrified when I found out. Now we have the situation with KMT and if the haters' disgusting behaviour is rewarded with Kennedy's removal, which is exactly what they want, I don't want to be in the same fandom as them anymore.

I really hope it's not true

by AceofWands Thu 07 Jun 2018, 8:22 pm

In the (very shady) websites reporting this, they're blaming "fan boycott" as a possible cause for KK being removed.

They also claim that Solo failed because of fan boycott (no it didn't, there were tons of reasons why it flopped, and it had never been a great idea to begin with). Then next they think that LF is afraid that the fan boycott is going to ruin IX. No it won't, and plus I bet that most of these boycotting fans are going to watch IX.Maybe these rumours about KK are like all the hyperbolic rumours about Solo, trying to make a storm out of a teacup.

By the way, on Solo, I read some fans claiming that they "boycotted it" by watching only once or twice, instead of many times. Laughing

I'm willing to believe that these rumours are just more of the nonsense related to Solo's poor performance. Still, some youtube videos seem really vile. Just the thumbnails make me cringe.

And Lucasfilm and Star Wars is doing so poorly that Celebration 5-day tickets sold out in a couple of days.

by Forsythia Thu 07 Jun 2018, 8:42 pm

AceofWands wrote:By the way, on Solo, I read some fans claiming that they "boycotted it" by watching only once or twice, instead of many times.

@AceofWands
Did they watch it in cinemas, though? I've seen a few of them claim they watched it online to ruin them Evil or Very Mad

The websites reporting it seem shady, however I think there could be some truth in it. There were problems with the director changes in Rogue One and Solo, we have a very loud group of haters for TLJ, and now Solo bombed. This all doesn't look very good for Kennedy and it's also possible she might be stepping down voluntarily because she herself is fed up with the hate she's getting. I really hope it's not true and I'm sorry I'm so pessimistic, I'm just down by all the negative Star Wars news recently. It's about time they start shooting IX, maybe it'll distract us from all this.

by rey09 Thu 07 Jun 2018, 10:01 pm

I really hope not, because it would be a major victory for the crybaby fanboys so screw that!!! I also heard the rumor said she'd leave in the fall which makes no sense with 9 being filmed. Solo did poorly and it looks bad but she's a well experienced producer, why the hell would she fall for one bad movie (that fell due to mannyy factors)? It makes no sense. She's just the fanboys' boogeyman.

by SoloSideCousin Fri 08 Jun 2018, 12:54 am

This whole thing with Solo sucks. I have seen it three times, and each time I hear multiple people going on and on about how good it was as I walk out of the theatre. It's actually a great movie, and it's a shame this perfect storm of bad marketing/poor release date/BTS drama happened to it. I hope it gets a new life on BluRay.

by Birdwoman Fri 08 Jun 2018, 10:03 am

But has she really lost Lucas Film a lot of money? I think that is ultimately the reason they would fire her. That and she is unable to run the company effectively. It seems from the rumors of why she fired some of the directors is because they had a hard time working in the huge machine that is Lucas Film. I have feeling Colin also couldn't produce a decent script and had ego problems.

by Forsythia Fri 08 Jun 2018, 11:15 am

Yeah, but a lot of people have criticized her for hiring the wrong people or not reacting faster. If she had fired Lord and Miller earlier, Howard wouldn't have had to reshoot 70% of the film. Due to this the production costs were very high and now the film didn't make enough money to cover that. I don't know if any of this is Kennedy's fault and if she could have prevented this, but I'd say the company is probably not happy about the financial losses and they might not care if it's her fault or not, it happened under her leadership, so I could imagine them firing her or asking her to step down.

by californiagirl Fri 08 Jun 2018, 1:03 pm

Really, does every studio head get told they should be fired after a single movie flops? LF just had 3 films in back to back to back years that made $1-2 billion. Plus a TV show that ran for 4 seasons. Think of all the merchandising and the literally millions of books, comics, and Blu-rays they've sold in the last 4-ish years. LF is fine. Clearly numerous mistakes were made, especially in regards to Solo, and they would do well to learn from them and move on. In fact, that sounds quite a bit like what we think the message of the upcoming Episode IX will be. They're fine. Ignore the rest of the internet's hysteria.

by SW_Heroine_Journey Fri 08 Jun 2018, 1:56 pm

I only see her leaving Lucasfilm before Episode 9 if two scenarios occur:

1) The judge in the AT&T/Time Warner merger rules it can proceed, and Comcast then pursues Fox's assets against Disney. The will offer cash to Fox's shareholders, and Disney is planning to offer stocks and cash. So...

2) If the above occurs, and Disney's stock is low to not be seen as attractive to the Fox shareholders, and Wall Street points to Solo's performance as the only reason why (or the predominant reason why), then I will not be surprised if she resigns with this scenario.

Otherwise, Episode 9's performance is the determining factor.

by SW_Heroine_Journey Mon 11 Jun 2018, 10:50 am

Mod note: post was moved to the KK thread. Please post a link to the original article and an excerpt or summary going forward, not the article in its entirety. You can also post the full article but put part of it in spoiler brackets to reduce the size of the post. Thanks!

https://www.forbes.com/sites/scottmendelson/2018/06/11/star-wars-solo-kathleen-kennedy-last-jedi-force-awakens-rogue-one-box-office-disney-lucasfilm/#bb148a5723c9

Forbes wrote:Can 'Star Wars' Survive Kathleen Kennedy's Critically-Acclaimed Box Office Hits? by Scott Mendelson of Forbes (June 11, 2018)
After 19 days of global release, Solo: A Star Wars Story has earned a whopping $312 million in worldwide grosses. That’s not good for any Star Wars flick, especially one that cost around $250m+ and another $150m+ to advertise. As of this juncture, with Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom playing overseas, and Walt Disney’s own The Incredibles 2 about to drop into domestic theaters, I would guess that the troubled and bedeviled Han Solo origin story/prequel will end its run with around $205m domestic and $365m worldwide, or about on par with Fifty Shades Freed ($370m). So, that’s not good.

Walt Disney will live. Avengers: Infinity War may top $2 billion today, Black Panther has earned $1.345b and Ant-Man and the Wasp should gross (offhand) $600-$800m next month. Pixar’s The Incredibles 2 looks like (at least) a $800m+ worldwide winner. Star Wars as a franchise should be fine too, even if Lucasfilm has some hard choices to make after Episode 9. The rumors about Kathleen Kennedy being fired or demoted are just that. There should be no serious conversations about the woman who has produced the four new Star Wars films into relative acclaim and otherwise unprecedented success being fired because one movie didn’t work out.

If Kennedy decides to move on, perhaps after the release of Episode 9 (maybe because the insane media reaction is having the same effect on her that it did on George Lucas), so be it. The notion that Kennedy should step down or be fired because some fans (for reasons either subjectively valid or rooted in racism and sexism) didn’t like The Last Jedi and because Solo flopped is absurd and toxic (insert a gif of Harvey Dent screaming "You can't let them win!"). Even with the behind-the-scenes director squabbles, the sausage created by the producer of E.T., Jurassic Park, Twister and The Sixth Sense has mostly come out smelling great.

Yes, Solo: A Star Wars Story was an under-$400 million bomb. But, putting aside the ironic “first new Star Wars movie starring a white guy flops” thing, the franchise is still flying high. You say Kathleen Kennedy is “ruining Star Wars,” her first four Star Wars movies she produced for Disney earned majority-positive reviews, straight-A CinemaScore grades and a combined $4.775 billion worldwide on a combined production and marketing cost of around $1.6b. Her first four Star Wars movies (Force Awakens, Rogue One, Last Jedi and Solo) have averaged $1.2b worldwide. That’s the biggest “average” gross for any franchise ever, even considering inflation, overseas expansion and 3D/IMAX/D-Box bumps.
read the rest:

by YeeRees Mon 11 Jun 2018, 6:36 pm

Some Marvel movies have underperformed and no one called for Kevin Feige’s head. Then there is Zack Snyder and the DC movies. There has been discourse about those movies for sure, but it’s on a different level to the criticism being levelled at Kathleen Kennedy.

The word from reputable insiders is the rumours are garbage, and I hope that’s the case. No male president of Lucasfilm or any other major studio franchise would be expected to stand down after one underperforming movie with mostly good reviews.

If KK does decide to step down, I hope she gets to do it on her own terms.

by DeeBee Tue 12 Jun 2018, 12:27 am

My 2 cents worth here.. I hope KK stays right where she is!
I've noticed a bias against KK: Anything positive is not credited to her, it is credited to someone else.
Anything negative is directly blamed on her, and her alone.
And in situations where she has realised a mistake has been made, and she's taken steps to correct it - she has been heartily criticised for that the mistake happening in the first place.
KK gets no credit for hiring JJ Abrams, but all the blame for hiring Colin Trevorrow. Not cool.
KK will not always score A+ in everything she does, but film making has it's ups and downs and overall - where she owns her mistakes, she also needs to be attributed her successes! I scratch my head that some in fandom seem to forget that she was chosen by GL to take the reins here.. (He did not choose DF for this!)
I wish KK all the best [lol as yeah, I'm sure she stops by here and reads our comments all the time. rofl] I hope IX will knock everyone's socks off and underline KK's vision for the ST was risk taking genius. And that she will get the credit that is due!

by SW_Heroine_Journey Tue 12 Jun 2018, 12:49 am

"Comcast is preparing to announce bid for Fox on Wednesday if AT&T-Time Warner is approved, sources say"

https://www.cnbc.com/2018/06/11/comcast-announcing-fox-bid-on-wednesday-if-att-time-warner-approved.html

U.S. District Court Judge Richard Leon will announce his decision tomorrow on Tuesday. If it favors AT&T-Time Warner, it is believed that Disney's stock will fall because of the predicted bidding war with Comcast. If Wall Street determines that one of the reasons is Lucasfilm related, only then - do I think Kathleen Kennedy will step down. Otherwise, she is in good standing until after Episode 9.

So primarily for this, I hope U.S. District Court Judge Richard Leon denies the AT&T-Time Warner merger!

by SW_Heroine_Journey Tue 12 Jun 2018, 3:56 pm

"AT&T-Time Warner Merger Approved" by Deadline.com

https://deadline.com/2018/06/att-time-warner-merger-approved-judge-ruling-justice-department-1202408367/

This means Comcast will aggressively pursue Fox's assets, which will cause a bidding war with Disney. Disney's stock is expected to fall because of this; however, if Disney wants to attract Fox's shareholders with a mixture of stock and cash, their stock needs to be attractive. If there is any sense that Lucasfilm is a drag in Disney's stock, then... Sad

Here is hoping the answer is no! I know the Fox shareholder meeting is next month. Fingers are crossed that business sense rules the day (and Disney's stock rebounds and becomes stronger).

by californiagirl Tue 12 Jun 2018, 4:35 pm

I wouldn't worry too much about Solo. So they had one unsuccessful movie. A Wrinkle in Time did poorly this year as well, do we hear about other Disney studio execs getting fired for that? Every studio misses sometimes. And the saga films have been doing better than the spinoffs, so I wouldn't think there's much fear for that film.

Side note, that AT&T-Time Warner merger is downright scary, this means they have both a media conglomerate plus the distribution and data for said media. Sounds like it's from a dystopian novel.

by SoloSideCousin Tue 12 Jun 2018, 5:07 pm

californiagirl wrote:I wouldn't worry too much about Solo. So they had one unsuccessful movie. A Wrinkle in Time did poorly this year as well, do we hear about other Disney studio execs getting fired for that? Every studio misses sometimes. And the saga films have been doing better than the spinoffs, so I wouldn't think there's much fear for that film.

Side note, that AT&T-Time Warner merger is downright scary, this means they have both a media conglomerate plus the distribution and data for said media. Sounds like it's from a dystopian novel.

@californiagirl

It sounds like the transaction is moving really fast. There is a possibility of them getting an emergency injunction via the DC Circuit no matter what the District Court judge says. District court judges do crazy s*** all the time that gets overturned. The problem is that process takes time. But if I was the lead Justice Department attorney, I would file for an injunction. It sounds like the case is an utter loss, so there might not be much to lose, but of course, Deadline will not do the best reporting on this. The Wall Street Journal will probably be one of the best sources.

For the non-American members, the District Court is the lowest court of the federal system. The next level is the Circuit level, a set of appellate courts that cover various regions in the US. This case would be appealed through the DC Circuit. After the Circuit level is the highest federal court in the land, the Supreme Court of the United States.

The US Supreme Court is the most selective court in the world. They only take about 100 cases a year. So I don't know if it would go that far, though they seem to be taking more high profile cases than they used to.

However, if the District Judge made mistakes, which he probably did, they have a much better shot at getting into the Circuit Court.

by SheLitAFire Tue 12 Jun 2018, 9:00 pm

Other than Solo, everything else seems to have done well enough & isn't 2019 Celebration selling out faster than ever?

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