Kathleen Kennedy to become co-chair of Lucasfilm

In a move to further George Lucas's retirement plans, Kathleen Kennedy will become co-chair of Lucasfilm, with Lucas remaining as co-chair and CEO as he prepares to step aside over the longer term. "His (Lucas's) plan is to to eventually step down as the chair," Kennedy told Variety. "I'll spend the next several months working side by side with George and getting to know the company and all the different divisions. We'll discuss the way forward and the future of the company and at some point he will feel confident that he can step aside and let me take the reins." Lucas said in a statement, "I've spent my life building Lucasfilm and as I shift my focus into other directions I wanted to make sure it was in the hands of someone equipped to carry my vision into the future." Micheline Chau remains president and chief operating officer of Lucasfilm. Kennedy said she will step away from the Kennedy/Marshall company, which recently inked a two-year overall deal with CBS TV Studios. (Variety, May 30). "Frank (Marshall) is going to continue to run Kennedy/Marshall and do the projects that we've been doing jointly. We've been scrambling over the last several days to sort out exactly how that's going to happen." Northern California native Kennedy will commute for now between Los Angeles and San Francisco, where Lucasfilm has its headquarters. She said she has no plans to relocate to the Bay Area but didn't rule out such a move in the future. Lucas has long spoken of his desire to return to making small-budget movies and has criticized the majors for their strategy of making fewer movies with bigger budgets. (Variety, Oct. 5, 2006). He recently told Empire magazine he means to retire and "make hobby films." But until now he has not relinquished control of Lucasfilm and the company's releases have been limited (with the exception of "Red Tails") to tentpoles for its existing "Star Wars" and "Indiana Jones" franchises. Kennedy said Lucas has not discussed the possibility of Lucasfilm producing his low-budget movies. However she hinted that she would expand Lucasfilm's slate. "What I'm excited about is Lucasfilm is a fantastic home for creative people," she said. "I'm really, really looking forward to not only reconnecting with the relationships I've had up there but bringing in new relationships I've made over the years. Because what I really love is making movies, and that's something I hope to bring to the Lucasfilm family." Kennedy's credits include the "Indiana Jones" pics, which Lucas produced with Steven Spielberg directing. She has long been Spielberg's producing partner. Spielberg, who keeps an office adjoining Lucas's at Industrial Light & Magic's Presidio digs, said in a statement, "Kathy has been a member of both of our families going into a fourth decade so it does not feel like she is going to another galaxy far far away. She will get just as much support from me with Lucasfilm as George has given both of us all these years." Lucas, for his part, made a point of reassuring both his staffers and fans. "As the company grows and expands I wanted to be sure the employees of Lucasfilm have a strong captain for the ship," Lucas said. "I also care deeply about our fans, and it was important to have someone who would carry on the passion and care that I've given the films over the years."