It’s hard to overstate how successful Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy has been with not just the Star Wars series, but also the number of projects she produced before joining the studio. To celebrate those achievements, the Academy Awards will bestow her and producing partner Frank Marshall the Irving G. Thalberg Memorial Award.
According to Deadline, Kennedy, along with her husband, Frank Marshall, will receive the Irving G. Thalberg award this year. Kennedy is the first female to receive the Irving G. Thalberg Memorial Award, which is given to producers “whose body of work reflects a consistently high quality of motion picture production.”
Kennedy’s career dates back to Raiders of the Lost Ark, which kicked off a partnership with Steven Spielberg. She served as producer on films such as E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial, Back to the Future, The Goonies, Schindler’s List, Jurassic Park, The Sixth Sense, Munich, and dozens more. One glimpse at her filmography reveals why she is a deserving candidate for the honor.
The producer has proven an integral component of Lucasfilm, helping lead the charge of films like Star Wars: The Force Awakens, Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, and Star Wars: The Last Jedi going on to become some of the more critically-lauded and financially successful films of their respective years of release.
Source: Deadline
