Discussion Lucas won't be picking SW VII director.

I haven't seen a thread on this piece of news yet, so here it goes. There are some new comments on control of the creative process for the sequels from George Lucas himself via Aceshowbiz:

The "Indiana Jones" series helmer opened up about his future plan when attending recent Ebony magazine's Power 100 Gala. During the event, the 68-year-old veteran filmmaker also shared about the future of the upcoming new "Star Wars" trilogy under Walt Disney. Lucas said that he would only serve as a creative consultant and let his longtime collaborator Kathleen Kennedy take control for the rest.​

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"I've turned it over to a wonderful producer, Kathy Kennedy, and I've known her for years," so the Marin County native stated. He went on saying that he wouldn't involve himself in selecting a director for the new "Star Wars". He reasoned, "She's [Kennedy] more than capable of taking it and making it better than I did."​

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I think this is interesting for three reasons. One, it shows that Lucas is taking his retirement very seriously. Two, it's going to affect speculation about who might become the director (which is for another thread).

And last, but not least, it shows that Lucas sees Kennedy as his primary creative successor for the franchise — not whoever the next director will be. This suggests to me that Kennedy will have a tremendous degree of creative control (something usually thought of as the director's arena), much like Lucas had during the production of ESB and RotJ.

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....but don't for a second believe she won't ask for his blessing when she's made her choice! He might just look at her, smile, and say "Its up to you," but they're friends and that is how respect works.

 

I agree.

 

Yeah. Very interesting. I think she may seek his input as a courtesy, but it clearly doesn't mean that she has to listen to him if she doesn't like what she hears.

 

I find it more surprising George Lucas was invited to Ebony's Power 100.

 

Red Tails + his girlfriend

 

His girlfriend may be on the list. She is rather powerful.

 

She's the Dark Lord of the Sith....

 

I can't help but think that some of this is just to get the media and the public off his back. I suspect that behind the scenes he will have exactly as much or as little power over these films as he desires. I do think he's putting his trust in Kennedy, but I also think he will be around in some capacity for Episode VII in particular to help set this trilogy in motion the way he wants it, and if he's having fun he may very well continue to be involved throughout the making of the other two. Remember that he tried to give up some control of Episodes V and VI to the directors, but (especially on VI) he found himself stepping in to oversee more aspects than he had planned to. Then before making the prequels he said that he might direct the first one, but that he would only oversee the other two the way he did on V and VI. Obviously that transition never happened, and he ended up directing them all. I don't doubt his sincerity, but I just think he has a hard time letting go completely when it comes to these movies. I also think he's tired of doing all the work and taking all the criticism, and the more behind the scenes he is at this point, the happier he'll be.

 

You can say that again. Lucas has been saying he'd step away CONSTANTLY since the prequels, and has repeatedly been sucked back into Star Wars. But the reason I actually believe him this time: he actually sold the whole dang company. Actions speak much louder than words

 

I'm not seeing how or why this is such a revelation, to be honest. If anyone expected Lucas to be sitting down with Kathleen micro-managing the development of this new trilogy, they really weren't paying attention to what her arrival at Lucasfilm and the sale of the company to Disney actually means. Lucas is going to be pretty much 'hands-off' in regards to the development and production of this new trilogy, and what, if any, involvement he has in the process will more than likely consist of and be limited to the story treatments he personally gave Kathleen and her possibly occasionally asking him for advice and encouragement as she embarks on what is arguably the biggest undertaking of her rather illustrious production career.

 

That's true, although he also made himself the largest individual shareholder of the company he sold it to, which still affords him a say in what that company does with his property. Add to that the fact that he hand selected a successor who he knew would listen to him, and I don't see him completely stepping away from Star Wars anytime soon.

I should add that I don't think he will be micro-managing these movies the way he has on all the others, but I definitely think he will have his say in many aspects of them.

 

Wooo!

 

Sure, but put the math in perspective. He'll be a 2% shareholder at Disney. He was 100% owner at Lucasfilm. I think he knows the drastic step down in power that he's taking.

 

You'd be wrong, then, on all counts. As I noted above, Lucas' involvement in this new trilogy will most likely consist of and be limited to only the treatments he gave Kathy and her possibly occasionally asking him for advice and encouragement. He's passed the SW baton to Kathy and left his company in the hands of her and the Disney Corporation and is moving on to other things.

 

This is perfect, he needs to have some say, but not be a micro-managing megalomaniac. Other equally brilliant minds are required to help him make masterpieces and correct the mistakes he made with the PT. I trust Kathleen Kennedy to do right by the saga and add to her already impeccable resume. She'll get good directors, writers, producers and this new trilogy will be everything the PT wasn't and then some. We'll all be satisfied with whatever we get.

 

Yeah I know. I'm just saying he did leave his foot in the door rather than shutting it completely. And as far as power, I think he still has quite a bit, if for no other reason than the immense respect that I'm sure Kennedy and everyone at Lucasfilm has for him. And that 2% actually means quite a bit when you're talking about a company as large as Disney. I'm no expert in these matters, but I would think that a stockholder of his magnitude would be one of the more powerful people on the Disney ladder. I do think he very much intends to step away, but I also think he will remain a guiding force for the future of Star Wars as long as he's alive. Exactly how much of one remains to be seen, but his influence will most certainly be there.

 

Kathy will be exec producing, I will be VERY surprised if Dave Filoni isn't the main Producer, so George will have a lot of influence over these movies even if it indirect or latent. I think it is safe to assume he'll have as much or as little to do with these movies as possible. Just like with The Clone War series he may get really on fire about doing the movies and take a more active role than he intends. Only time will tell. The only thing that is a certainty that you can't take one single word uttered by the Notorious GL as fact.

 

Anyway, I think it'll be interesting to see this constant struggle play out. Disney will want to constantly emphasize that the films were based on Lucas's original story and had his consulting input (hyping up his involvement for obvious marketing reasons), and Lucas seems to keep trying to publicly distance himself from the new trilogy and wash his hands of any meaningful decision in the development process.

 

She will provide him with a bunch of pictures of possible directors.

Whichever one comes back with "FABULOUSO" scrawled on it in red letters, that's who the director will be.

 

I'm not disputing that Kathy will be the one in charge, and that she will be doing the heavy lifting now. I'm just saying that Lucas has proven time and time again that even when he leaves something in someone else's hands (Kershner, Marquand, Filoni etc.) he ends up still being involved on some level, and I don't see him breaking that pattern just because he sold his company.

In regards to the specific topic of this thread, he probably won't be heavily involved in the process, but he will most likely be asked to give his ok.

 

Kathy is going to be the main producer of this trilogy, and has effectively replaced both George and Rick McCallum in terms of the role she'll play.

 

Producer and Executive Producer are different though. She will exec from afar while Filoni will be the man on the ground. The majority of Kathy's work has been as an executive producer.

 

Are you sure about that? I've been wondering about this. As Executive Producer of V and VI, Lucas had creative control but he still had other people in the actual Producer's chair. I know Kennedy is an accomplished Producer, but that sounds like an awfully heavy load.

 

@BasharThere's absolutely no evidence to support what you're saying, and several pieces of evidence to the contrary.

Mystery Roach: Go watch the 'The Future of Star Wars' video; it is made rather clear in that video that Lucas has personally handed Kathy the SW baton and that she will be overseeing this new trilogy; there is also little to no evidence to suggest that, regardless of what terms have been used (Executive Producer vs. Producer), her duties vis a vis this new trilogy are going to be any different from the duties she's had on the other films to which she's been attached as a Producer.