Kathleen Kennedy the (only one) in a black shirt
#TheLastJedi is not a good film. It?s not a good @StarWars film. It?s not even a good #StarWars story. But rather than rehash this movie?s many, many failings I want to provide an answer to this one question:
How did this happen?
Answer: Kathleen Kennedy has turned Lucasfilm into a Naked Mole Rat Colony.
A Queen Naked Mole Rat
When George Lucas sold Lucasfilm to @Disney for upwards of 4 billion dollars in 2012, he relinquished the franchise he had controlled for almost 40 years. An idea that Lucas would remain as a creative advisor was quickly squashed by Lucas himself saying he would only cause trouble. Ideas for a 3rd trilogy that Lucas had already been planning were completely scrapped. There future of Star Wars was a blank slate and the Lucasfilm ship needed a captain.
Months earlier Kathleen Kennedy had already been named Co-Chair of Lucasfilm by Lucas, and upon the sale to Disney she was appointed President of Lucasfilm and creative heir to the Star Wars Empire.
Kathleen Kenendy has been a successful, award winning producer for over 30 years. Starting out as a secretary for Steven Spielberg, she quickly became his trusted collaborator. She?s been a producer on iconic films like ET, Back to the Future, Indiana Jones and Jurassic Park. She married producer Frank Marshall with whom she also has a creative partnership with. However prior to ascending to the Lucasfilm Presidency she had been second fiddle to some of the most powerful creative men in Hollywood.
Lucasfilm is now Kathleen Kennedy?s, and everything the the studio produces is hers. She is the most powerful woman in Hollywood (via San Francisco) and is directing the most lucrative franchise in Hollywood.
The Force Awakens was released 3 years after the sale of Lucasfilm to Disney. Things were set in motion quickly. Star Wars veteran Lawrence Kasdan worked on the script. Spielberg-esque J.J. Abrams was brought in to direct. Kennedy?s guidance was there, and the edict that film?s main protagonist be female, but Kennedy was content to set the Lucasfilm machine in motion and oversee it?s operation.
This was not the case with The Last Jedi. Episode VIII is Kathleen Kennedy?s film and she has asserted full control over the creative direction of Star Wars. More on that later.
Naked Mole Rats are an interesting species. They live in underground colonies. They are the only mammals that exhibit eusociality, (like bees and termites) meaning there is one Queen who reproduces with 1?3 males. No other males or females are allowed to breed and in fact they remain infertile due to high stress level hormones caused by the queen stepping on their heads. If any female does become fertile, the Queen quickly and viciously dispatches her. The non-breeding males acquire food and maintain the tunnels and the females take care of the Queen?s young offspring and partake in cooperative grooming.
Kathleen Kennedy has become the Queen Naked Mole Rat of the Lucasfilm Colony. Substitute the idea of breeding and offspring with the creative process and producing a film. So who are the males that Queen Kennedy reproduces with? Take a look at this list:
J.J. AbramsGareth EdwardsRian Johnson Phil Lord and Chris Miller (fired)Colin Trevorrow (fired)Ron HowardStephen Daldry (rumored)
These are all the directors so far selected by Queen Kennedy suitable to mate with and birth a Star Wars Film. What?s missing? With the exception of J.J. and Howard, experience is missing. Recently Ridley Scott commented that Star Wars movies should be created by more experienced directors. And why not? Why not let some of Hollywood?s best director?s have a crack at Star Wars?
Because they are not easily controlled. And as we?ve seen over the last year, if you don?t follow the orders of Queen Kennedy, it?s off with your head.
Can you name another producer who has ?parted ways? with 2 (really 3) directors in the span of a year? During filming? It?s unprecedented. Lord and Miller were supposedly fired for not keeping to the script. Trevorrow was fired for reportedly being ?difficult?. The reality is they asserted creative control over their films, and Queen Kennedy was having none of that.
Colin Trevorrow didn?t want to follow Queen Kennedy?s orders.
Rian Johnson however, followed the Queen?s orders to a T. That is why he was rewarded with further breeding opportunities, a new trilogy, before The Last Jedi was even released. Also unprecedented.
What else do you notice about that list of directors? No women. 6 named directors and not a single woman. Why would Kathleen Kennedy, epitome of feminism and breaking the glass ceiling in Hollywood not have hired one, two or even all female directors for her female driven Star Wars Trilogy?
How come no female directors for Star Wars?
Because in the Lucasfilm Mole Rat Colony, other females are not allowed to breed. They are restricted to the Lucasfilm Story Group where they can nurture and groom Queen Kennedy?s babies.
The story group is also comprised appeasers like Leyland Chee and Pablo Hidalgo (who has tirelessly defended the Queen and #TheLastJedi on Twitter even though he is fully aware of it?s failings). It?s hard to imagine (after reading his defenses) that Pablo, upon reading the Leia flying through space scene, is the type of man that would have stood up in the room and told Queen Kennedy ?That?s not how the Force works?. Instead he was happy to feed the baby and tell it how good it is, rather than provide any true guidance or discipline.
The Last Jedi has Kathleen Kennedy?s fingerprints all over it. She?s a Berkley educated liberal-feminist who was groomed by Hollywood men, told she had good ideas and was given powerful positions without having to do all that much? kind of like Rey.
All the men in The Last Jedi are cowards, failures, inept, or suffer from toxic masculinity. The women know better then them must save the men from their masculinity. It?s the mindset of an arrogant woman who for years has put up with the men around her (remember Hollywood is a cesspool) and believes herself to be some beacon of feminine light in the darkness. Burning the tree of the Force is setting fire the the patriarchy. The subtext of The Last Jedi is very deep and very post-modern. It?s a reflection of Queen Kennedy. It?s also why they had to destroy what Star Wars meant to us and why half the audience hates this film.
If Star Wars is to survive a now seemingly inevitable decline, rebellious fans must storm the gates and overthrow the Queen. We must resist spending our money on Star Wars.
I call for a vote of no confidence in Kathleen Kennedy?s leadership. Help us Bob Iger, you?re our only hope. #FireKathleenKennedy
