News Star Wars Galactic Starcruiser coming to Walt Disney World 2021

[flynnibus]

When Steven Spielberg praises you... you will get a lot of work No matter what we think of her, at least before Lucasfilm, Spielberg thought highly of her.. and that man pretty much has earned unflappable respect. Even with issues like Indiana Jones

 

[jinx8402]

I don't "hate" KK...but her track record does not bear out any creative genius on her part. She has producer/executive producer credit in a number of films, some of which were high-profile. She has exactly 1 acting credit. She has zero writing credits. She has zero art/design credits. She also has zero editing or directing credits. To me that says that her roles as producer and executive producer have been non-creative.

Change KK to Feige, and it is the same thing. Are we now saying Feige's role has been non-creative?

(definitely not comparing the two's level of success, Feige clearly has a better track record with the MCU).

 

[MisterPenguin]

Aside from handing The Mandalorian to Filoni and Favreau, she has largely mismanaged the franchise as studio head. I can't ever remember any film series having as many issues with revolving directors and writers - even on individual films in series - what caused all that nonsense?

So you want the directors of The Game of Thrones and Riann Johnson to get their shot at a new Star Wars movie?

 

[ImperfectPixie]

So you want the directors of The Game of Thrones and Riann Johnson to get their shot at a new Star Wars movie?

Not what I said at all.

 

[Tha Realest]

I generally think Kathleen Kennedy gets more criticism than is warranted, but she should be judged according to her results. Which are:

TFA: Greatly over-performed*
Rogue One: Over-performed, but also was very expensive due to reshoots and functional director replacement mid-production
TLJ: Under-performed
Solo: Under-performed, was also very expensive due to lengthy reshoots and replacement of Lord & Miller with Ron Howard
TROS: Under-performed; fired original director and had to bring back JJ

Notwithstanding claims of corporate support for Kennedy, soon after TROS was released, Iger himself they were taking a "pause" on films:

Star Wars Movies Will Take a Break After Episode IX, Disney Says

Walt Disney Co. Chief Executive Officer Bob Iger said he’s not at all concerned that consumers may be overexposed to the Star Wars brand, but the film franchise will go on “hiatus” after December’s big release.

www.bloomberg.com

Rian Johnson trilogy - Not official cancelled but not likely to ever happen
Benioff/Weiss trilogy - Not happening
Josh Trank/James Mangold film - Cancelled
Patty Jenkins' Rogue Squadron - 2023, we'll see
Taika Waititi's Star Wars Movie - TBD, he has like a half dozen other projects
Kevin Fiege Star Wars Movie - TBD, will probably happen, but he has an entire division he's also running

Out of those announced projects, only three look to still be in development, but each of those directors/producers have a few other projects on their plate (I think Jenkins has prioritized WW sequel and the Cleopatra film ahead of Rogue Squadron).

Again, she has a tremendous resume (how much of that is due to proximity to Spielberg is a fair question), but is somewhat spotty on SW films. Even successes like Rogue One have to be looked at critically, given the complete reworking in the midst of production. It's fair to say that was the right decision - many of the better parts of that film could be attributed to Tony Gilroy's reshoots. The same move seems to not have improved Solo from what we could tell (and it's worthwhile to note Lord & Miller haven't ever delivered a bad or even, merely average, product). I am not sure how much money they are out from those cancelled or stalled production deals. Plus, it seems the company is shifting Star Wars more towards a D+/series template.

* Produced and directed by JJ Abrams, who is a considerable producer in his own right

 

[ImperfectPixie]

Change KK to Feige, and it is the same thing. Are we now saying Feige's role has been non-creative?

(definitely not comparing the two's level of success, Feige clearly has a better track record with the MCU).

And there's the rub.

Why does KK have so many producing credits, yet having so much difficulty running her studio and getting predictable results, while Feige seems to have a similar resume, but his studio is churning out hit after hit?

 

[ImperfectPixie]

I generally think Kathleen Kennedy gets more criticism than is warranted, but she should be judged according to her results. Which are:

TFA: Greatly over-performed*
Rogue One: Over-performed, but also was very expensive due to reshoots and functional director replacement mid-production
TLJ: Under-performed
Solo: Under-performed, was also very expensive due to lengthy reshoots and replacement of Lord & Miller with Ron Howard
TROS: Under-performed; fired original director and had to bring back JJ

Notwithstanding claims of corporate support for Kennedy, soon after TROS was released, Iger himself they were taking a "pause" on films:

Star Wars Movies Will Take a Break After Episode IX, Disney Says

Walt Disney Co. Chief Executive Officer Bob Iger said he’s not at all concerned that consumers may be overexposed to the Star Wars brand, but the film franchise will go on “hiatus” after December’s big release.

www.bloomberg.com

Rian Johnson trilogy - Not official cancelled but not likely to ever happen
Benioff/Weiss trilogy - Not happening
Josh Trank/James Mangold film - Cancelled
Patty Jenkins' Rogue Squadron - 2023, we'll see
Taika Waititi's Star Wars Movie - TBD, he has like a half dozen other projects
Kevin Fiege Star Wars Movie - TBD, will probably happen, but he has an entire division he's also running

Out of those announced projects, only three look to still be in development, but each of those directors/producers have a few other projects on their plate (I think Jenkins has prioritized WW sequel and the Cleopatra film ahead of Rogue Squadron).

Again, she has a tremendous resume (how much of that is due to proximity to Spielberg is a fair question), but is somewhat spotty on SW films. Even successes like Rogue One have to be looked at critically, given the complete reworking in the midst of production. It's fair to say that was the right decision - many of the better parts of that film could be attributed to Tony Gilroy's reshoots. The same move seems to not have improved Solo from what we could tell (and it's worthwhile to note Lord & Miller haven't ever delivered a bad or even, merely average, product). I am not sure how much money they are out from those cancelled or stalled production deals. Plus, it seems the company is shifting Star Wars more towards a D+/series template.

* Produced and directed by JJ Abrams, who is a considerable producer in his own right

And the bolded is definitely a loss for fans.

Series are great, and they have their place...but Star Wars is such that it deserves the depth and detail full-length films allow.

 

[Tha Realest]

And the bolded is definitely a loss for fans.

Series are great, and they have their place...but Star Wars is such that it deserves the depth and detail full-length films allow.

I love films more than TV series, and I generally agree, but I am not sure how you can justify $200M for a film - which may or may not release to full strength in what remains of the movie theater industry - when you can spend 60-70% of that on a series that will air over two months and stave off streaming churn.

 

[ImperfectPixie]

I love films more than TV series, and I generally agree, but I am not sure how you can justify $200M for a film - which may or may not release to full strength in what remains of the movie theater industry - when you can spend 60-70% of that on a series that will air over two months and stave off streaming churn.

I just don't think SW is the franchise to use for those purposes. I love The Mandalorian, and think SW series are great for fleshing out side stories, etc...but I don't want them to stop making SW films if they can figure out how to fix the issues that plagued the most recent ones.

 

[pdude81]

And there's the rub.

Why does KK have so many producing credits, yet having so much difficulty running her studio and getting predictable results, while Feige seems to have a similar resume, but his studio is churning out hit after hit?

Marvel has been around twice as long and has tons of known heroes as well as villains to work with. Creating and executing a long term plan for individual releases along with team up movies was a genius move, and to that end I think Feige should get some credit on the creative front. As much as I love Star Wars, Feige started with a much deeper bench than Kennedy did.

Also comics have a history of reboots, so you can kill someone off and then start over a decade later if need be. Allowing Han and Luke to be killed of (and before Episode IX no less) was incredibly stupid from a flexibility standpoint, and now forces the hand of others in future timelines as well as no shot for the "old guys" to show up in Batuu if a shake up is needed.

 

[ImperfectPixie]

Marvel has been around twice as long and has tons of known heroes as well as villains to work with. Creating and executing a long term plan for individual releases along with team up movies was a genius move, and to that end I think Feige should get some credit on the creative front. As much as I love Star Wars, Feige started with a much deeper bench than Kennedy did.

Also comics have a history of reboots, so you can kill someone off and then start over a decade later if need be. Allowing Han and Luke to be killed of (and before Episode IX no less) was incredibly stupid from a flexibility standpoint, and now forces the hand of others in future timelines as well as no shot for the "old guys" to show up in Batuu if a shake up is needed.

I don't buy Marvel's history vs. Star Wars' history as a reason Lucasfilm is struggling at all.

Along with killing off Luke and Han, KK chose to discard TONS of material that could have been drawn from. Those are two massive mistakes in and of themselves.

KK has a long, impressive resume and may be a fabulous producer. She may even be a very creative producer (as much as I doubt it, it is still possible). At this point in the game though, I don't think she understands Star Wars or it's fanbase at all or that she's capable of heading up a studio dedicated to one franchise.

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

I'm sorry, I thought your comment about being caught between a cat and mouse game was you indicating that she got the job through hijinks and not competency.

No…I think Lucas tried to use her by exploiting his friendship with her mentor…

braverman said that Lucas expected creative control free of “financial obligations” when he sold…and Iger told Him no and issued a Hollywood PR mea culpa after the fact.

that must have put kennedy in an impossible spot. Little doubt that Lucas presented her as “his person” at the negotiating table…which means Bob had to back channel that.

she had to pick a side - I would guess. Not fair at all.

Now what she and Iger decided about direction after the sale…or more likely what he told her to do…is a different story.

I’ve never thought that kennedy was treated right from the start

but after material was made and it became obvious Disney was making huge, not understandable creative mistakes…she had to take a lot of the heat…fair or no.

nobody forced JJ reboot on her or knives out…and they both have been tossed out of the universe by corporate.

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

Change KK to Feige, and it is the same thing. Are we now saying Feige's role has been non-creative?

(definitely not comparing the two's level of success, Feige clearly has a better track record with the MCU).

That’s not even close…Feige has Sheparded 25+ movies in 15 years

kennedy - all her fault or not - has had her movie studio shutdown for going on 4 years and fired more directors than George Steinbrenner did managers.

it’s not even close. It is impossible to argue that LFL hasn’t been an extremely troubled studio under Disney

and nobody would if they didn’t get one box office bloated result playing on Lucas making mistakes in 1999 and 2002.

that is all that was…a gimmick for a reboot.

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

I don't buy Marvel's history vs. Star Wars' history as a reason Lucasfilm is struggling at all.

Along with killing off Luke and Han, KK chose to discard TONS of material that could have been drawn from. Those are two massive mistakes in and of themselves.

KK has a long, impressive resume and may be a fabulous producer. She may even be a very creative producer (as much as I doubt it, it is still possible). At this point in the game though, I don't think she understands Star Wars or it's fanbase at all or that she's capable of heading up a studio dedicated to one franchise.

Nobody at Disney seems to grasp the reasons why Star Wars worked beyond its place and time (that’s a big one). I’m not sure George Lucas does…definitely not Dave filoni either.

it wasn’t “a kids movie that adults liked” or a special effects stunt.

it was a blended story that was told to adults that kids could still digest parts of…it wowed you without making you feel immature or stupid…

…except maybe the Ewoks

Disney said “how do we make it and maximize the market” when the truth is “make it as good as possible and the market will COME TO IT like baseball in a cornfield”

they continue to miss the targets at times…little bit better of late.

 

[ImperfectPixie]

Nobody at Disney seems to grasp the reasons why Star Wars worked beyond its place and time (that’s a big one). I’m not sure George Lucas does…definitely not Dave filoni either.

it wasn’t “a kids movie that adults liked” or a special effects stunt.

it was a blended story that was told to adults that kids could still digest parts of…it wowed you without making you feel immature or stupid…

…except maybe the Ewoks

Disney said “how do we make it and maximize the market” when the truth is “make it as good as possible and the market will COME TO IT like baseball in a cornfield”

they continue to miss the targets at times…little bit better of late.

GAWD...the Ewoks. How did they get Chewie so right and the Ewoks so wrong?!?

ETA: The Ewoks are the ONLY creatures in the OT that aren't convincing...because they look like they're wearing footie pajamas made from off-the-shelf fur fabric.

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

GAWD...the Ewoks. How did they get Chewie so right and the Ewoks so wrong?!?

ETA: The Ewoks are the ONLY creatures in the OT that aren't convincing...because they look like they're wearing footie pajamas made from off-the-shelf fur fabric.

Well…George gave interviews…I believe it was for one of the 500 video releases about just this:

Chewbacca was added to Star Wars because his original concept was use Wookiee for the Ewok parts…but he thought there was no chance he’d get to make 3 movies.

makes a lot of sense in retrospect. They are the same name with the syllables reversed

 

[pdude81]

I don't buy Marvel's history vs. Star Wars' history as a reason Lucasfilm is struggling at all.

Along with killing off Luke and Han, KK chose to discard TONS of material that could have been drawn from. Those are two massive mistakes in and of themselves.

KK has a long, impressive resume and may be a fabulous producer. She may even be a very creative producer (as much as I doubt it, it is still possible). At this point in the game though, I don't think she understands Star Wars or it's fanbase at all or that she's capable of heading up a studio dedicated to one franchise.

I assumed they would have to pay a King's ransom to Timothy Zahn and others should they want to really use the expanded universe. Otherwise how stupid to just disregard it and render illegitimate characters that in some cases show up in the launch bay. However, with Star Wars it's always a familiar theme and the same overall struggle, whereas Marvel is heroes/vilains battling with different superpowers.

I agree fully that they the bed on discarding what was once canon. Had they not forced so many weird decisions in the ST then they probably could have gone back in time and done some of those stories after the fact. Could have been fun seeing a new generation of movies or even D+ series with the solo twins if they were smart enough to keep the other players involved (Mara/Ben) in the movies somehow. Well, we kind of got one of the twins with the wrong name, and he will be reportedly appearing every other night in a swamp near you.

 

[ImperfectPixie]

Well…George gave interviews…I believe it was for one of the 500 video releases about just this:

Chewbacca was added to Star Wars because his original concept was use Wookiee for the Ewok parts…but he thought there was no chance he’d get to make 3 movies.

makes a lot of sense in retrospect. They are the same name with the syllables reversed

My only real complaints about them are the obvious cheapness of the costumes, and that the celebration music just didn't fit - with the original, or the Lucas update. The original was too slap-dash with obviously dubbed vocals, and the updated one just took itself way too seriously. It was supposed to be music created by the Ewoks right then...not some orchestrated theme (or random noises) with dubbed choruses singing.

 

[UNCgolf]

I don't think they really had a choice with Han.

My guess is they had two options: 1. kill him off in Force Awakens or 2. announce he died off-screen before the movie even started. I'm pretty sure killing off the character was a condition for Harrison Ford to agree to return for TFA at all.

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

I don't think they really had a choice with Han.

My guess is they had two options: 1. kill him off in Force Awakens or 2. announce he died off-screen before the movie even started. I'm pretty sure killing off the character was a condition for Harrison Ford to agree to return for TFA at all.

He’s a miserable old fart who signed up for a cash grab…

so that wasn’t a great show of management/story telling there either.