Last week we reported that the studio Lucasfilm launched a new series in the universe “Star wars“(Star wars), in the center of the plot of which will be exclusively female characters. However, now insiders claim that the news caused a scandal and internal showdown in the leadership Disney.
Mickey Mouse stood on his ears
The first part of the information comes from the portal WDWMagic.comwhich is dedicated to Disney project news. One of the regulars of the local forum under the nickname WDWPro, who has contacts inside the studio and periodically shares rumors, said on April 23 that the company’s management intends to hold an emergency summit that is directly related to Lucasfilm. Moreover, a WDWPro source claimed that the chairman of the board of directors Bob Iger and the head of the studio Bob cap are “in a rage”.
What could stir up the swamp of the name Mickey mouse? The answer is obvious – a new series based on Star Wars, about which the publication Variety reported on April 22.
You need to understand that such publications in the media do not appear just like that – they are masterfully thought out by PR teams that use pocket editions. However, the problem is that, due to the pandemic, Disney management froze ALL existing projects until the crisis was resolved and production was re-evaluated.
Now the media is managing to merge the details of only those projects that have already been announced earlier. Say the spin-off of the movie “Outcast One“about the rebel Cassian andor. In the last few weeks, more and more new details about the series have appeared, including comments by the leading actor Diego moon, the news about the change of the show runner or the expansion of the cast of actors. Against this background, the news about the feminist series looks like an anomaly.
Scandal Architect
The second part of the key for solving the puzzle was provided by the YouTube channel Midnight’s Edge, which repeatedly gave true insider leaks from the world of cinema. As bloggers said, citing sources, Lucasfilm did not agree on a new project with Disney bosses. Moreover, panic is observed in the studio itself. George Lucas, since for most employees the announcement is also a surprise.
So who could organize the “leak”? Only the head of Lucasfilm Kathleen Kennedy or someone from her team that is isolated from the rest of the staff. Such tactics are not new to her.
So, in September 2018, the portal The hollywood reporter on an exclusive basis, announced that the contract of the top manager was extended for another three years. The news was published after a resounding failure in the rental of the film “Han Solo” Ron Howardand it wasn’t about the official press release from Disney or Lucasfilm.
Judging by the available data, the new series in the Star Wars universe is still under discussion, so in any case, it must go through the coordination process with Disney’s top management. One gets the feeling that Kennedy is trying to put pressure on Iger and Chapek, confronting them with the fact: to give the project “green light” or to face a wave of hatred from “progressive” media and bloggers.
As you know, under the leadership of Kathleen Kennedy, the Star Wars franchise managed to lose the support of half of George Lucas fans. The ninth episode of the saga raised half as much money as the seventh, and Han Solo failed miserably at the box office. Moreover, over the past five years, merchandise sales have fallen. The combination of these factors makes one doubt that in 2023 the contract of the top manager will be extended.
In addition, insiders claim that Kennedy was generally barred from participating in a number of projects. In particular, she was allegedly forbidden to interfere with the work of show runners “Mandalorian” John Favreau and Dave Filoniwho many consider to be the next Lucasfilm executives. There were also rumors about the upcoming dismissal of the top manager, which were quiet after the pandemic.
The conflict between Kennedy and Iger is no secret. The first at one time betrayed George Lucas, who hoped to influence the Star Wars franchise through her. As a reward to the new chapter, Lucasfilm untied his hands, which led to sad consequences. She could not establish the production process, constantly changed directors, did not control the work Ryan Johnson and actively promoted the SJW agenda to the detriment of history and thoughtful characters.
As a result, when Bob Iger gives interviews to reporters, he tries not to mention Kathleen Kennedy. But Disney still did not dare to prematurely terminate the contract.
Matryoshka named after Weinstein
So why did Bob Iger, chairman of the Disney board of directors, and Bob Chapek, the formal head of the company, be furious? There are several reasons for this.
The first of them is the show runner of the project. They became the creator of the series “Matryoshka” Leslie Headland. Prior to this, she “became famous” for her statements that the time of “white men” and “white women” in Hollywood supposedly passed, and that they should cede their positions to representatives of other nationalities (people of color). The absurdity is that Hadland herself is a “white woman.”
At the same time, immediately after the announcement of the new project, the director promptly deleted several hundred publications on Twitter that could discredit her. The tactic is not new, because at one time it was used by the director Ryan Johnson, as well as the show runner of the series “Miss Marvel” Bisha K. Ali.
However, the most interesting is the “black spot” in the career of Leslie Hedland. The fact that she is a creature of the infamous producer Harvey Weinstein. Moreover, throughout the year, the girl had access to the “body” of Hollywood authority, holding the post of his personal assistant in Miramax. Later, the girl dedicated to this episode of her biography a play from the cycle of seven sins, called “Assistanse“Interestingly, greed has become its theme, and Vaishntein himself appears under the name Daniel Weisinger.
Although the producer’s antics were known to many of Hollywood’s big shots, including actors, he’s been covered for many years. Hadland was no exception, because the acting participants of the play strive to please the difficult boss as much as possible, and women dream of getting close to him. At the end of the production, a heroine named Jenny, which the chief rejected, was satisfied with a drunken pogrom in the office, dancing on the table and threatening to destroy his reputation.
Disney’s fears are that the scandal surrounding Harvey Weinstein is still far from over, so the studio does not want to have anything to do with it. And recruiting Leslie Hadland makes the company vulnerable to criticism.
The second reason is related to Bob Iger himself. As we have repeatedly mentioned earlier, a top manager is very concerned about his image. Presumably, this is due to the desire of the manager to take part in the election of the US President in 2024. He is clearly ready to appropriate all the Disney achievements, but not failures.
This can explain his sudden departure in February 2023 from the post of president of the company. After a fruitful 2019, when studio films earned more than $ 11 billion, an inevitable recession should have followed. In addition, problems could arise with future projects.
Therefore, the top manager moved to the post of chairman of the board of directors, replacing the “manual” Bob Chapek, who before that had not very successfully managed amusement parks. In his new position, Iger could not only control Chapek, making him a scapegoat if necessary, but also focus on creative control over new projects. Including on series and films from Lucasfilm.
But the pandemic confused all the plans of a cunning manager. The company was not prepared at all for such a development of events, having turned from an industry leader to an outsider. A significant part of the blame lies precisely with Bob Iger, who agreed to buy the company 21st Century Fox for 71 billion dollars. The influx of money in the context of the closure of amusement parks, shops and cinemas has actually stopped. In just a couple of months, the company’s debt grew by $ 11 billion.
In such circumstances, it became clear that Chapek could not cope, so Iger was forced to push the puppet aside, again intercepting the reins of government. However, concern for the image has not gone away, which Kennedy is well aware. And she put it between a rock and a hard place.
If Bob Iger accepts the project, he will demonstrate his vulnerability and allow Kennedy to go to the sound of fanfare, leaving behind a “fragrant” legacy in the form of a series. If he “kills” the project, then the media and SJW activists will attack him, spoiling the carefully guarded authority of a skilled manager. That is why Iger is furious – he was driven into a dead end.
What the head of Lucasfilm does not exactly understand is the change in the rules of the game in the entertainment industry. In the current situation, Disney is forced to adapt to new conditions and change. And Iger has already decided to take responsibility for the unpopular reforms. In particular, he talked about revising the approach to the production of films and series, and was not afraid to send 100 thousand employees on unpaid leave, which dealt a huge blow to the image.
In the current situation, the head of all Disney may well cover up an uncomfortable project, leaving an ineffective subordinate with a nose. One thing is certain: Kathleen Kennedy managed to provoke chaos, even sitting on self-isolation in four walls.
Does Kennedy think Star Wars fans are old-timers?
The fact that a civil war is unfolding in front of Disney before our eyes is also evidenced by the recent revelations of the vice president Walt disney world Dan Cockerell. In the podcast WDW Radio he shed light on the reasons for the failure of theme parks based on Star Wars, which are called Galaxy’s Edge.
As you know, about a billion dollars were spent on the project, but many strategic mistakes were made during the implementation (poor choice of location, lack of connections with old trilogies, selling low-quality goods, and so on) that led to the dismissal Katherine Powell as president Disney parks west and liquidation of the post itself.
This did not improve the situation: the launch of the second attraction “Resistance Rise“turned out to be a complete failure (a number of incidents involving tourists stuck for several hours in trolleys were reported). There are only two attractions in the park, apart from a separate show with the actors.
Now the entire Disney park business is closed and incurs huge losses due to the pandemic. That is why it was decided to send 100 thousand people without salaries, which would save 500 million dollars a month.
But in this case, something else interests: who came up with the idiotic idea of a park that has nothing to do with George Lucas trilogies, but has its own ENT and plot, sewn with white thread to the new Mickey Mouse trilogy? And Cockerell gives the answer – the fault lies with Kennedy.
Prior to this, it was believed that the rejection of the use of familiar images was associated with an agreement between Disney and Lucas, according to which the latter allegedly receives a percentage of sales of goods and the use of images of heroes from the first six films. But the top manager at Walt Disney World explained that the creative team had completely different ideas.
Initially, they wanted to build the park on the territory of Disney’s Hollywood Studios and stylize the planet Tatooine. The central location was supposed to be the legendary cantina in Mos Aisley. However, it was planned to turn part of the territory into the forests of Endor. The plans also included a palace Jabba the huttnew version of the show Jedi training academyas well as an attraction Path of the forcededicated to the lore of the Jedi and Sith.
But the project ultimately cut off personally Kathleen Kennedy. In particular, she stated that Lucasfilm needs to expand its audience and attract new fans. According to the head of the studio, the original trilogy of films by George Lucas is supposedly interesting only to people aged 50 years and older.
This episode is an excellent finishing touch to the portrait of Kennedy, who, since 2012, has been extremely successful in turning the once mega-popular Star Wars brand into ruins.
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