This story first appeared in the Dec. 18 issue of The Hollywood Reporter magazine. To receive the magazine, click here to subscribe.
As Star Wars: The Force Awakens nears its release on Dec. 18, the level of anticipation has reached hysterical proportions. At the center of the frenzy is Kennedy, who has four more films in the franchise rolling out over the next four years — Rogue One: A Star Wars Story directed by Gareth Edwards (2016), Episode VIII written and directed by Rian Johnson (2017), an untitled Han Solo anthology film directed by Phil Lord and Christopher Miller (2018) and Episode IX directed by Colin Trevorrow (2019) — plus an untitled Star Wars anthology film written by Simon Kinberg (undated).
“My life is quite — it’s organized chaos,” says the Northern California native (a mother of two children with producer husband Frank Marshall), who took the reins at Lucasfilm in 2012. “It’s been nonstop — literally nonstop — from that moment on.” Says Kinberg, “I’ve been most impressed by how she gets the best work out of creative people. … She’s supernatural to me. She’s calm and clear and focused and committed and extraordinarily insightful about filmmaking.”
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