Tag: Kathleen Kennedy

Disney extends Kathleen Kennedy contract for another three years

The Hollywood Reporter is reporting Disney extended the contract of Kathleen Kennedy as president of Lucasfilm for another three years.  This move undoubtedly has members of the toxic Star Wars fandom community quite livid. These are the fans who enjoy watching a metal Rose Tico figure get decapitated with a pair of bolt cutters. I’m surprised I can’t hear their collective cries of anguish and their gnashing of teeth from where I sit in my house in Maryland.

They can’t all live in sound-proof basements.

Kathleen Kennedy is a proven winner

People who peddle hate in the Star Wars fan community like to bemoan what a terrible job Kathleen Kennedy has done as president of Lucasfilm. I don’t agree. The facts just don’t align with that claim. Under Kennedy’s watch, the Star Wars franchise grossed nearly $4.5 billion.

Considering how much money Kennedy has brought in for Disney and its shareholders, they would have been stupid not to extend Kennedy’s contract. This is Hollywood where most movies supposedly lose money.

What about Solo: A Star Wars Story?

Granted, Solo: A Star Wars Story was the first movie in the Star Wars franchise to lose money, but you cannot expect to hit a home run every time you go up to bat. Make enough Star Wars moves and chances are, one of them will be a box office dud.

I saw Solo: A Star Wars Story and it wasn’t as bad as some people said it was. My biggest problem with the movie was the actor who played a young Han Solo, Alden Ehrenreich.

Alden Ehrenreich

It’s not like Alden Ehrenreich was terrible or anything. I just wasn’t feeling him as Han Solo. That’s not an insult towards Ehrenreich. I just think the only actor who can play a young Han Solo is a young Harrison Ford.

A better choice would have been to leave the character alone and make a Star Wars movie about a post-teen Boba Fett or better yet, a young Admiral Ackbar.

There were a lot of things I liked about Solo: A Star Wars Story. If you’re a Star Wars fan and you haven’t seen Solo: A Star Wars Story, you should watch it. It may have lost money, but that shouldn’t stop you from watching it. Solo: A Star Wars Story is not the worst Star Wars movie of the franchise. That distinction goes to the prequel movies. If you watched those three movies, you’ve already watched the worst movies in the Star Wars franchise.

In my opinion, the best single movie in the Star Wars franchise was Rogue One: A Star Wars Story. That happened under Kathleen Kennedy’s leadership. She deserved the contract extension just for that.

‘The Force is Female’ is not about Star Wars

There’s a picture floating around the Internet, as pictures often do, that shows Kathleen Kennedy, president of Lucas Films, standing with three women. They’re all wearing t-shirts that say, “The Force is Female.”

What the photo means depends on who you ask. Some say it’s proof that Kathleen Kennedy is a militant feminist who wants to kill all men. Either that or take away men’s child visitation rights and make them all pay more in child support.

Others are saying it’s an indicator why Disney’s Star Wars movies have more female characters, especially in positions of leadership. Others aren’t saying anything because they’re just t-shirts.

I’m in the latter group.

I was watching a YouTube video this morning where the host was bringing up the photo and trying to make a big deal about it. The video drove me to take six minutes and conduct a proper Internet search. My goal was to find the source of the t-shirts. This is what I was able to find.

“The Force is Female” is from Nike

The t-shirts were part of a marketing campaign by Nike. They had nothing to do with Star Wars. They were part of a campaign to get more women to wear Air Force One shoes, probably the greatest athletic sneaker ever made.

'The Force is Female' is not about Star Wars - Bent Corner
Nike Air Force One high-tops designed specifically for women.
'The Force is Female' is not about Star Wars - Bent Corner
The Force is Female Air Force One low-tops.
'The Force is Female' is not about Star Wars - Bent Corner
The exact t-shirts worn in the infamous photo, except Kathleen Kennedy’s t-shirt was black because she’s from the Dark Side.
Another version of a “The Force is Female” shirt. This model has probably never watched a Star Wars movie.
'The Force is Female' is not about Star Wars - Bent Corner
This photo is from Nike.com.

Of all the photos, the one shown above is the most offensive. Who in their right might wears Air Force Ones in bad weather? There’s snow on the ground. The ladies in the above photo don’t seem to care about their shoes. I’d go barefoot before I’d wear a pair of Air Force Ones in the snow.

This is what it says on the official “The Force is Female” page on Nike.com:

'The Force is Female' is not about Star Wars

Nike’s campaign has nothing to do with Star Wars

Nike’s “The Force is Female” has nothing to do with Star Wars. If it did, they would have a photo of Aunt Beru wearing a pair of minty fresh Air Force Ones. They don’t. I’ve looked.

If memory serves, Adidas released Star Wars themed shoes when the awful prequels came out. I think Vans is making Star Wars shoes now. I don’t really know because I don’t really care.

Let not yourself be offended by the t-shirts of others

If you allow someone’s t-shirt to offend you, you’re doing something wrong. I don’t think I’ve ever been offended by the actions of a stranger, let alone by a t-shirt they were wearing, so it’s hard to put myself into the mindset of someone who has. The closest I get is when I see someone wearing Jimmy Buffett clothing or anything to do with the New York Yankees. Like most moral and rational people, I hate Jimmy Buffet and I hate the New York Yankees. When I see someone wearing that filth, I just turn my head and don’t look.

It works for me.