George Lucas Retiring

[Sith Holocron]

From Entertainment Weekly . . .

Kathleen Kennedy to co-chair Lucasfilm as George Lucas 'moves forward with retirement'

Turns out George Lucas wasn’t bluffing with all that talk about retiring. Lucasfilm Ltd. announced today that Steven Spielberg’s longtime producing partner Kathleen Kennedy is joining the production company as co-chair. Lucas will retain his position as CEO but Kennedy’s new role will allow him to “move forward with his retirement plans,” according to a press release.

A former president of the Producers Guild of America, Kennedy has produced seven films that received Academy Award Best Picture nominations, including E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial, War Horse, Seabiscuit, and The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, after having started out as Spielberg’s assistant in the late 1970s. To assume her position at Lucasfilm, she’ll be stepping down from production powerhouse The Kennedy/Marshall Company, which she leads with husband Frank Marshall. Lucas and Kennedy will be sharing co-chair responsibilities as she finishes work on Spielberg’s Lincoln and Tony Gilroy’s The Bourne Legacy.

Lucasfilm remains a lucrative business despite relatively minimal output aside from its ongoing curation of the Star Wars and Indiana Jones franchises. This January, the San Francisco-based company released the World War II fighter-pilot actioner Red Tails about the Tuskegee Airmen, which became the first non-Star Wars, non-Indiana Jones movie the studio had produced since 1994′s Radioland Murders. A fifth Indiana Jones movie is rumored to be in the works, however, along with a live-action Star Wars TV series that’s been teased since the release of the last theatrical installment set in that galaxy far far away, Revenge of the Sith, in 2005. The studio also continues to produce the highly rated animated series Star Wars: The Clone Wars for Cartoon Network.

Whether or not the prolific Kennedy’s appointment indicates a new period of production activity for Lucasfilm remains to be seen. In a statement Lucas said, “As the company grows and expands I wanted to be sure the employees of Lucasfilm have a strong captain for the ship… It was important that my successor not only be someone with great creative passion and proven leadership abilities, but also someone who loves movies.”

What are your thoughts on this?

[Alexrd]

Whatever is on his mind. Although I wish he keeps having some input on Star Wars from time to time.

[adamqd]

I dont see this as a bad or a good thing to be honest, He's created Star Wars, what more can one man do lol? The only negative thing that could come from this is Miss Kennedy could start making strange Lore destroying decisions... but.. that... happened... before...

The World will be the same.

[Pho3nix]

Cool beans

[Samnmax221]

Good riddance.

[LDR]

MEH.

I'll just wait-and-see.

[Lynk Former]

so... he has "retired"... good for him.

[purifier]

Originally Posted by Alexrd

Whatever is on his mind. Although I wish he keeps having some input on Star Wars from time to time.

It's a good bet he likely will. He can't stay away from all it, after all he is the author.

[Sith Holocron]

Originally Posted by purifier

It's a good bet he likely will. He can't stay away from all it, after all he is the author.

The article does say in it . . .

Lucas will retain his position as CEO

[Darth Avlectus]

Okay who farted? Oh wait that's just the stench of this announcement cuz I find it hard to believe. Don't get me wrong, I wish Uncle George well and everything, but I'll believe he's out of the limelight when he has given everything up completely. Period.

[Q]

Originally Posted by Samnmax221

Good riddance.

[JesusIsGonnaOwnSatan]

I'm interested in seeing whether this will have any effect on plot/lore decisions, and such.

[Lynk Former]

I'm sure we won't even notice any difference really...

[purifier]

Originally Posted by Sith Holocron

The article does say in it . . .

Lucas will retain his position as CEO..

And there ya go. That's one indication to me. Glad you pointed that out, SH.

Originally Posted by Lynk Former

I'm sure we won't even notice any difference really...

Yeah I was thinking the same thing. It will be like it's always been, nothing new. Yet, also I think he's just trying to be slick with the public.

[LDR]

Pics or it never happened.

[Darth Avlectus]

Or rather some...thing signifying that he has officially fully retired.


I'm sorry but I know too many of my higher end clients. They continue to have stakes somewhere to keep a sort of residual income, or an investment of some kind, coming even in their "retirement".

I met an aussie bartender. Had his master's in psychology, inherited millions, lost it, gained millions back and then some. He stopped caring about a big time career and $$$, and decided just a little job at a country club to keep himself active and social was just what he needed in retirement. Even back then when I had a crappy sense of humor no grasp of sarcasm he could make me laugh. Hell of a guy.

It is my experience that when people "retire", very few I know anymore ever stick around at home. They are doing things. They are still involved. Investing. Running things. Out and about. They are all somehow keeping money flowing even if they are sitting on retirement and using it. So I am not surprised in the least Uncle George made this "announcement". Come across as a little publicity stunt. This is especially true of people with any kind of success.

[adamqd]

He employs people who actually do stuff anyway, he just comes in to the meeting room once a week, and reels off bad analogies to explain the Force, and why Anakin has a Padawan, then his minions go off and make the Clone Wars... Not exactly a 9-5.

[Darth Avlectus]

That may be true, but it still makes my point, especially being successful as he has been:
"They are all somehow keeping money flowing even if they are sitting on retirement and using it." Don't get me wrong, he still manages to screw things up with little apparent effort. Just, he has built quite a name for himself and it is something he can continue to profit from (for a time at least until it is run into the ground).

[Darth InSidious]

"Lucas Retires, Pledges To Continue Working".

[Negative Sun]

Live action TV series or it didn't happen...

[Blix]

He's only retired in name, if anyone wants to make any new games, novels or whatever based on a character that he created or has vested interest in they will more than likely have to get permission from him first. Plus he will probably still have a hand in any, if not all future Star Wars-related media, I mean he created it...he'll be involved until the day he becomes one with the force.

[Lynk Former]

You mean get permission from the licensing department of LucasFilm Ltd.

GL doesn't sign off on everything all day long.

[Blix]

Originally Posted by Lynk Former

You mean get permission from the licensing department of LucasFilm Ltd.

GL doesn't sign off on everything all day long.

True, but I imagine though if someone were to bring up some radical new idea that the licensing dept's guidelines didn't already cover they would leave it up to Lucas. Hell, if he didn't like how a certain videogame or comic franchise was portraying his characters he could have it kiboshed if he wanted to.

[Lynk Former]

I doubt that very much considering some of the crap that's been put out.

[Blix]

^
Which is why his retiring will make absolutely no difference at all in the quality of crap that we get

[Ctrl Alt Del]

Which is why I don't really follow you reasoning. So he retires in name and de facto and nothing changes.

[Blix]

Originally Posted by Ctrl Alt Del

Which is why I don't really follow you reasoning. So he retires in name and de facto and nothing changes.

Yes it wouldn't change anyway, he would still have creative control over his [strike]characters[/strike] the Star Wars universe regardless if he was retired or not (i.e. meaning final say).

[Ctrl Alt Del]

Not what I meant. If most of the EU is garbage it's not due to GL's approval, but rather the ones in charge of licensing all things Star Wars. He would retire and those same people would have the final say in what becomes lore/canon or not.

[Lynk Former]

@ Blix: We'll make it absolutely clear for you so there's no misunderstanding... GL does NOTHING. He may have started it, and we thank him for that and he had his input here and there (more in the PT which is mostly why it's so terrible... damn yes-men), but when it came to creating the films, anything and everything that was totally awesome about them was the result of the work of someone else.

In regards to everything else licensed out. He also does NOTHING, it all comes from the licensing department putting their stamp of approval on it, GL doesn't sit in his office going through all of the proposals made so he can approve the licenses himself, he did nothing then and he's going to continue to do nothing now.

[Blix]

Thanks I'll shut up now.