main
side
curve
  1. In Memory of LAJ_FETT: Please share your remembrances and condolences HERE

Does Lucasfilm Need New Leadership?

Discussion in 'Lucasfilm Ltd. In-Depth Discussion' started by Rickleo123, Jun 21, 2017.

Thread Status:
Not open for further replies.
  1. ObiWanKnowsMe

    ObiWanKnowsMe Jedi Master star 4

    Registered:
    Sep 7, 2015
    TFA was not to my taste but Rogue One was fantastic. Kathleen Kennedy is making well-received movies and making a fortune. I don't see any need for new leadership
     
  2. BigAl6ft6

    BigAl6ft6 Chosen One star 8

    Registered:
    Nov 12, 2012
    Lucasfilm's two Disney releases have made 3 billion dollars combined. She ain't going nowhere.
     
  3. KerkKorpil

    KerkKorpil Jedi Knight star 1

    Registered:
    Nov 7, 2016
    Yes. Lucasfilm needs new leadership.

    Please archive this post until 2030.
     
    Martoto77 likes this.
  4. Darth Nave

    Darth Nave Jedi Master star 4

    Registered:
    Dec 27, 2015
    On a more serious note than my previous post, I don't think Lucasfilm needs new leadership. I just think that the company is going through a transition phase from a company that was completely independent to one that is answerable to a larger entity that we as fans aren't used to, and that there are going to be hiccups along the way and growing pains for us adjusting to these new changes. I also think Kathleen Kennedy wants to ensure that all the Star Wars films meet a certain standard of quality, and is willing to take drastic measures to do so. In the past Lucas was both at the top of the food chain and the main creative force behind the movies, so there wasn't the disconnect that there is now between the people actually making the film and the executives in charge of bankrolling it. That was a very unique way of filmmaking that yielded a very specific kind of film and like I said earlier, Lucasfilm now operates more like a typical film studio, which ultimately yields a different kind of film (though not necessarily a worse kind).

    In addition, while behind the scenes drama is understandably a cause for concern, I don't think it matters as long as the end result turns out good. Marvel has had plenty of that, especially in their early days, yet I never see Kevin Feige get nearly the same amount of vitriol thrown at him as Kennedy.

    So overall, I think that there's nowhere to go but up for the franchise, and we'll eventually all get used to Star Wars being done differently now.
     
    anakinfansince1983 likes this.
  5. AndyLGR

    AndyLGR Jedi Grand Master star 4

    Registered:
    May 1, 2014
    As a viewer I think the output of Lucasfilm should be judged on the films they are producing and not any issues that may be going on behind the scenes. I'm judging the films on if I like them or not and I suspect that if the OP had liked them that they wouldn't have started this thread.

    The OP certainly seems agenda driven, either due to not liking the films or being one of the Lucas devotess that will accept nothing without his input. To me these 2 films seem quite respectful of the OT universe that they are trying to fit in to.

    Ultimately KK will answer to the board and the shareholders and will be judged on the performance of the films, and I suppose that will also be the arena where production issues and costs are brought in to it too. But with a 3bn take on 2 films surely anyone would be happy with that?

    Ultimately it seems like shes doing the job shes entrusted with and thats to make successful SW films that fit in with Georges universe, thats the agenda because if they are not successful then shes out of a job. From the outside it seems like she has the franchise at heart to me.
     
    Martoto77 and DrDre like this.
  6. elfdart

    elfdart Jedi Grand Master star 3

    Registered:
    Apr 1, 2001


    I agree about the second part, but the first part is absurd. Solo's character shouldn't be changed retroactively just because some people might not like his egotistical "dudebroism" 40 years after he first appeared on screen. It's like turning James Bond from a drinking, womanizing hit-man for the British Empire into a chaste, teetotalling pacifist. Let Solo be Solo.
     
  7. anakinfansince1983

    anakinfansince1983 Skywalker Saga/LFL/YJCC Manager star 10 Staff Member Manager

    Registered:
    Mar 4, 2011
    I don't think Solo's character should be changed, but that aspect of it should not be viewed in a positive light as it might have been then.
     
    Nibelung and ezekiel22x like this.
  8. Martoto77

    Martoto77 Jedi Master star 5

    Registered:
    Aug 6, 2016
    Solo isn't a dudebro. He's a fictional character, like the man with no name, or Snake Plissken, or Logan etc, etc.

    We get to live their questionable lives vicariously but we know it's make believe, in a make believe world under make believe circumstances and doesn't mean anything, Dudebros are people that think they ought to emulate or endorse characters or characteristics like that in reality. They used to simply be called jerks. They weren't "acceptable" then and they aint now. Except in a movie.

    Put a jerk in a movie and make them the unlikely hero and it's fine. Try to confuse movies with reality and it's not fine.
     
    DrDre and Lt. Hija like this.
  9. ezekiel22x

    ezekiel22x Chosen One star 5

    Registered:
    Aug 9, 2002

    Agreed. Elements of Han's aggressive "courting" in ESB make me a little bit uncomfortable nowadays. I wouldn't mind at all if the producers took extra caution not to celebrate this aspect of the character.
     
    Nibelung likes this.
  10. Martoto77

    Martoto77 Jedi Master star 5

    Registered:
    Aug 6, 2016
    I think people should remember that Han and Leia's relationship has never been celebrated through Han's "courting". It's made quite obvious that that Han's approach leaves plenty to be desired.

    All the while on Hoth, Han is making it easy for Leia to let him go with his sense of entitlement and accusations of coldness.

    It's only when they are trapped in a seemingly desperate situation in the asteroid field that Leia is willing to momentarily ignore his methods in order to express mutual affection.

    It's only when Han executes his plan to escape almost certain capture from the Avenger that Leia truly volunteers her admiration for him. Something that Han is oblivious to because he's preoccupied with saving their butts.

    And when on Bespin, after Han has been tortured and he shows unrivaled bravery and stoicism in the face of what could still turn out to be a horrible death in the freezing chamber -it's only then that each character is honest about their feelings - unguarded and without any coy pretense or affectations.

    The culmination of their relationship in this way is in spite of Han's earlier, unreconstructed advances. It has never been celebrated by the movies themselves. So I don't see the need for LFL to take more caution than they already have.
     
    Darth Nave, Nibelung and DrDre like this.
  11. {Quantum/MIDI}

    {Quantum/MIDI} Force Ghost star 5

    Registered:
    Dec 21, 2015
    It's definitely celebrated in the fandom. Pretty crazy if you ask me.
     
    ezekiel22x likes this.
  12. Nibelung

    Nibelung Jedi Padawan star 2

    Registered:
    Apr 18, 2017
    This is one of the reasons Lucas initially envisioned it being Luke who ended up romantically involved with the Princess. However, real life intervened on that score, given Fisher and Ford's adulterous liaison.
     
  13. Martoto77

    Martoto77 Jedi Master star 5

    Registered:
    Aug 6, 2016
    It's celebrated in the fandom? What exactly is celebrated? The way that Han steals his and Leia's first kiss? Or Han and Leia falling in love?


    That's like saying it's celebrated on planet earth. Of course some fans may endorse or claim to endorse that kind of behaviour. I don't imagine that all star wars fans have the same values or attitudes as me at all times.

    But generally speaking, most people aren't so approving of that kind of thing in reality. And if they are paying attention they will notice that Han and Leia's first clinch is interrupted, allowing both characters to withdraw and then later to proceed on more sophisticated and authentically tender. reciprocating lines. It's meant only to be momentary and unsatisfying. Han and Leia's character and relationship develop a fair bit before its culmination.


    Creeps will always take anything out of context that appeals to them. That shouldn't prevent the rest of us being treated like adults.
     
  14. QuiWanKenJin

    QuiWanKenJin Jedi Grand Master star 4

    Registered:
    Oct 14, 2005



    Maybe if you add an extra "K" in there, it would be more believable that an axe was involved. :eek:
     
  15. DBPirate

    DBPirate Jedi Master star 4

    Registered:
    Jun 20, 2015
    As much as I don't like the direction that Lucasfilm is going with as far as the ST goes and Rebels is a little lackluster, I did enjoy Rogue One and I think the EU is much more organized and easy to keep track of than before. Then again, this may be because I first really got into Star Wars when there was already nearly a decade of EU content.

    One thing I will say is that you can definitely tell Lucas isn't at the helm. I would say that's a bad thing but it seems the majority of people think otherwise judging by TFA's overwhelming praise. Do I adore the ST or Rebels? No. But acknowledging that Lucasfilm wasn't created to obey my wishes and that its main priority is turning a profit, there's no chance for new management anytime soon.
     
  16. Lord-Skywalker

    Lord-Skywalker Hangman Host star 10 VIP - Game Host

    Registered:
    Jul 8, 2002
    2 movies, 2 blockbusters, so far so good
     
    Martoto77, Gobi-1 and Artoo-Dion like this.
  17. Gobi-1

    Gobi-1 Manager Emeritus star 5 VIP - Former Mod/RSA

    Registered:
    Dec 22, 2002
    There's also a big difference between the Lucasfilm George Lucas himself ran and the Lucasfilm of today. When George was at the helm they only released films whenever he wanted to make them. Lucasfilm only released two new films and one tv series in the 90s, Radioland Murders, The Phantom Menace, and The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles. In the 00s they only released four films and one tv series, Attack of the Clones, Revenge of the Sith, The Clones Wars tv series and film, and Kingdom of the Crystal Skull.

    Only releasing three to five projects a decade won't cut it for Disney. Lucasfilm now has to evolve into a much more active production company releasing new content on an annual basis. That's a big shift so I'm not surprised there have been some growing pains. Based on the content they've put out so far Kathleen Kennedy is doing a fine job.
     
  18. Martoto77

    Martoto77 Jedi Master star 5

    Registered:
    Aug 6, 2016
    Do you know how most franchises often have some absolutely stinking entries. And there's usually a background of troubled production, creative differences etc and, due to the disappointing product, the director is sometimes lucky to go on to have a successful career afterwards?

    That's because the people at the studio involved need to make themselves and their salaries seem justified by interfering all the time but, ultimately, take no responsibility for the disappointing results because it's the director's name on the film at the end of the day.

    LFL seems to be the opposite of that. They clearly are willing to take responsibility and take the hard decisions necessary to deliver what they feel is right by themselves if the people they have hired are on a different page from them and a compromise that satisfies both parties cannot be found.

    On the other hand, they also seem open to suggestions that they hadn't envisioned themselves. Like the Vader scenes at the end of R1.
     
  19. elfdart

    elfdart Jedi Grand Master star 3

    Registered:
    Apr 1, 2001
    That's really on the viewer, now isn't it? Feminists and some others might find him a sexist jerk whose constant teasing of Leia crossed a line into harassment. Most other viewers think he's funny and cool, while still others might think he's a sexist jackass, but still think he's OK because he's still a good guy. And there are quite a few who couldn't care less -they thought Harrison Ford was hot and that's good enough for them.

    Filmmakers and TV producers have little control over how audiences take in a character. Archie Bunker (and Alf Garnett, the character he's based on) was meant to be a laughingstock because of his own bigotry and stupidity, but quite a few bigots and dummies thought he was cool and tried to emulate him. You see the same thing with the colonel played by a clownishly overacting Jack Nicholson in A Few Good Men. They quote his lines like he's a badass, but in the movie he's a liar, a coward and responsible for the killing of one of the men under his command. I doubt the people who made that movie really intended to create an idol for a generation of wannabe tough guys who were too dumb to get the point of the movie.
     
    L110 likes this.
  20. Jester J Binks

    Jester J Binks Jedi Master star 4

    Registered:
    Dec 19, 2016
    How do people miss that the Han / Leia romantic tension was a two way street? Leia was just as "awful" to Han as he was with her. And if you want to get technical, he was subordinate to her, so ...... Princess Leia, please report to HR.
     
    elfdart likes this.
  21. anakinfansince1983

    anakinfansince1983 Skywalker Saga/LFL/YJCC Manager star 10 Staff Member Manager

    Registered:
    Mar 4, 2011
    We don't need to go back to 1977 when Lucas was vilified for not making Leia more sweet and demure to her rescuers. So in regards to leadership by Lucasfilm, I'm thankful we have someone who seems unlikely to make sweet-and-demure women and machismo men the default.
     
    Martoto77 likes this.
  22. CT-867-5309

    CT-867-5309 Chosen One star 7

    Registered:
    Jan 5, 2011

    Uh, I'm the last guy who should bring up this point, as I don't follow this kind of thing, but didn't Lucas do like a million reshoots for the PT? Isn't that how we got Ewan's mullet wig? Wasn't ROTS extensively reshot? Wasn't Anakin originally supposed to stand by and watch Sidious duel the Jedi? Didn't George have some trouble and bring in Spielberg to help?
    [​IMG]

    I picked up this info just hanging around here as much as I have.
     
  23. Outsourced

    Outsourced Force Ghost star 5

    Registered:
    Apr 10, 2017
    That was Lucas, so its all OK apparently.
     
  24. TheMoldyCrow

    TheMoldyCrow Jedi Master star 3

    Registered:
    Jun 16, 2015
    Really every Star Wars film has had some sort of production trouble. The only difference nowadays is that these movies are coming out every year, so news about the production is much more frequent.
     
  25. JediMasterSven

    JediMasterSven Jedi Master star 3

    Registered:
    Apr 21, 2014
    Somewhat unrelated, ( and feel free to migrate this to another thread if need be.) but am I the only one who reads these "behind the scenes "reports of drama between the directors and Kathleen Kennedy ( and even the behind the scenes drama with the DC Comics movies) and thinks, "this could actually make for a very entertaining movie" ?

    Sort of a Galaxy Quest meets This is Spinal Tap kind of thing. You have a film studio that is launching a franchise based on a popular and enduring property, they bring in young, hot, talent to direct, and you add the clashing personalities and even through in some drama with the actors ( but make sure to make it a comedy so you crank everything up to 11). Actually...that could make for a very compelling Galaxy Quest 2. Heck, you could even work the death of Alan Rickman into the plot and have something happen to his Alexander Dane similar to Leonard Nimoy in Star Trek Beyond, or Carrie Fisher in The Last Jedi.
     
Thread Status:
Not open for further replies.