Kathleen Kennedy Quotes

Powerful Kathleen Kennedy for Daily Growth

About Kathleen Kennedy

Kathleen Kennedy (January 5, 1954-) is an influential American film executive, renowned for her pivotal role in shaping the narrative of modern cinema, particularly within the Star Wars and Indiana Jones franchises. Born in Berkeley, California, she developed a passion for storytelling at an early age, inspired by her father, legendary producer George Lucas. Kennedy attended Stanford University, where she studied political science and economics. After graduation, she began working with her father's production company, Lucasfilm, eventually rising through the ranks to become its president in 1982. In this position, Kennedy oversaw a range of projects, including Steven Spielberg's E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial (1982) and the groundbreaking Star Wars sequels: The Empire Strikes Back (1980), Return of the Jedi (1983), and The Force Awakens (2015). Kennedy's leadership at Lucasfilm culminated in 2012 when she was appointed as the company's co-chairman, alongside her brother, J.W. Rinzler. In this role, Kennedy orchestrated the sale of Lucasfilm to The Walt Disney Company for $4 billion. With this transition came Kennedy's appointment as the president of Lucasfilm, later becoming the president of Lucasfilm Limited and subsequently the entire Disney Studios in 2018. Under her leadership, Kennedy has continued to expand the Star Wars universe with critically acclaimed films such as Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (2016) and The Last Jedi (2017), while also introducing new franchises like the highly anticipated Artemis Fowl film series. Her contributions to cinema, particularly in the realm of science fiction and fantasy, have solidified her place as a trailblazing executive and storyteller.

Interpretations of Popular Quotes

"The greatest thing a creative person can be is consistently themselves."

This quote by Kathleen Kennedy emphasizes the importance of authenticity, consistency, and individuality in the creative process. Being "consistently themselves" suggests that truly creative individuals maintain their unique identity, values, and style over time, rather than conforming to external expectations or trends. This consistency breeds authenticity, which in turn strengthens creativity and fosters a distinctive artistic voice. It encourages creators to stay true to who they are, as this integrity will not only enrich their work but also inspire others with their original vision.


"The fun of storytelling lies in its infinite possibilities."

This quote suggests that the joy in storytelling arises from its boundless potential for creation and exploration. It highlights that every tale has endless possibilities, whether it's the characters, settings, or plotlines, allowing creators to express their imagination in unique and unpredictable ways. This flexibility provides an exciting canvas for writers, filmmakers, artists, and anyone involved in storytelling to share fresh perspectives and ideas with the world.


"Stories are about hope. They're about dreams. They're about destiny."

Kathleen Kennedy's quote suggests that stories hold a profound significance as they embody aspirations, dreams, and hopes for the future. The essence of a story lies in its ability to inspire and instill hope within readers or listeners, guiding them towards envisioning and striving for better days or fulfillment of their desires. Stories often provide a narrative framework that outlines potential destinies, allowing individuals to imagine possibilities and chart their own paths in life. Ultimately, stories serve as beacons of inspiration, offering guidance, hope, and the encouragement necessary to pursue dreams and shape our destiny.


"We make movies for people to have a sense of escapism and to be entertained, but also to feel something real and relatable within that fantasy world."

This quote by Kathleen Kennedy emphasizes the dual role of cinema as both an escape from reality and a reflection of it. Movies offer audiences a chance to immerse themselves in fantastical worlds, yet they are designed to evoke genuine emotions and empathy through relatable characters and stories. In essence, films serve as a bridge between escapism and authentic human experience, allowing us to temporarily forget our everyday lives while still feeling connected to universal truths about the human condition.


"I don't think you ever stop being a dreamer or being curious about what's around the corner."

This quote by Kathleen Kennedy emphasizes that a lifelong pursuit of dreams, curiosity, and exploration is a constant aspect of human nature. It suggests that one should never lose their innate desire to imagine possibilities and seek knowledge, regardless of age or circumstance. The idea "what's around the corner" symbolizes the unknown future and the continuous discovery that life offers. This quote encourages us to maintain an open-minded approach towards learning, growth, and personal development throughout our lives.


Creating authentic emotional experiences, whether it's 'Star Wars' or 'Spotlight,' are driven by characters and stories that are engaging.

- Kathleen Kennedy

Emotional Experiences, Engaging

Sports teaches you to understand the meaning of a team. You need to be able to work with everybody; you don't have to be their best friend. You can experience the fun of competition and driving toward a common goal without pushing to bond in some major way with each individual on a project.

- Kathleen Kennedy

Project, Some, Everybody, Pushing

If all you're doing is playing it safe - trying to make the same movie over and over again - that's when the audiences say, 'Oh, this is just a moneymaking machine.' But if it's genuinely in service to the art form, then the franchise concept is being used in a way that's exciting.

- Kathleen Kennedy

Doing, Movie, Franchise, Being Used

The producer, in effect, has to work as a translator. You form a very tight relationship with the director and writer from the beginning, and then you are constantly communicating to the various people that begin to come into the process, as you are trying to manage to hold on to a vision that needs to be communicated over a long period of time.

- Kathleen Kennedy

Beginning, Very, Long Period, Translator

I loved David Lean, he had a huge influence on me when I was going to film school.

- Kathleen Kennedy

Going, Had, Film School, Huge Influence

I've had filmmakers, I even had Bono come and talk to me about having a sequel to 'E.T.' help with an environmental message - I listened. I can certainly understand. I mean, the great thing about Bono is that everything he does is in service to a greater cause.

- Kathleen Kennedy

About, Cause, Had, Bono

I don't analyze things all the time, I just do them.

- Kathleen Kennedy

Time, Things, Them, Analyze

The 'Star Wars' universe is full of technological and cutting-edge effects, which Base FX will be a wonderful partner to create with.

- Kathleen Kennedy

Star, Will, Which, Cutting-Edge

It's not just about casting female protagonists. It's gotta be across the board throughout the industry.

- Kathleen Kennedy

Gotta, Across, Protagonists, Casting

It's an interesting thing when you're casting a film - especially when you're trying to discover someone - you're waiting for someone to step into the room in an audition process and claim the role.

- Kathleen Kennedy

Process, Discover, Audition, Casting

There's no way a director can communicate with every single person on the set and yet they need to motivate and instill an ambition to want to do their best work.

- Kathleen Kennedy

Communicate, Need, Set, Motivate

A lot of directors will do a certain amount of storyboarding and pre-vis, and yet when they get on the set, everything starts to change, and they have new ideas.

- Kathleen Kennedy

New, Set, Amount, New Ideas

From a producing standpoint, I think prep is everything.

- Kathleen Kennedy

Think, I Think, Producing, Standpoint

Lucasfilm looks out for 'Star Wars.' What are the values inherent in 'Star Wars' that we want to protect? It's fragile to a certain extent in that it's a single IP.

- Kathleen Kennedy

Star, Extent, Star Wars, IP

If it's a huge tentpole movie, for instance with a movie like 'Tintin,' a year and a half, almost two years in advance, we were developing a videogame campaign and massive consumer products campaign.

- Kathleen Kennedy

Movie, Instance, Half, Consumer

I started out as a camera operator. I was doing news, and I was doing sports - baseball games and football games. And I was acutely aware of women not really being in those roles then.

- Kathleen Kennedy

Sports, Doing, News, Operator

Probably the biggest contribution that Disney has made to the Lucasfilm franchise management was their international component. That was something Lucasfilm hadn't made significant inroads with.

- Kathleen Kennedy

Made, Significant, Franchise, International

In the creative community, there's no excuse for not making a more equitable environment.

- Kathleen Kennedy

Environment, Making, Excuse, Equitable

I think 'E.T.' came along at a time when it was probably meant to be.

- Kathleen Kennedy

Think, I Think, Meant, Meant To Be

When we built Amblin, we even put Murphy beds in there because we thought that was so practical. Why would anybody, if you were working on something, need to go home at night? You'd just stay there, wake up in the morning, and carry on.

- Kathleen Kennedy

Wake Up, Thought, Anybody, Beds

We look at Marvel, but we're not trying to emulate that in any way. In fact, we talked often about how distinctive what we're trying to do with 'Star Wars' is from Marvel. They've been extremely successful in exploiting the characters in that universe, and we have a place. We have the galaxy.

- Kathleen Kennedy

Fact, Been, About, Distinctive

Having a female point of view in the room - when you get into a discussion about behavior - who would say what and how they would interact with one another. In certain situations, women are going to have a different opinion on that than men. It made for a really balanced conversation in the room.

- Kathleen Kennedy

Point Of View, Another, Conversation

I've always said that I don't want to be in front of the camera.

- Kathleen Kennedy

Want, Always, Front, Camera

My story sort of sounds ridiculous because the first movie I produced was 'E.T.'

- Kathleen Kennedy

Ridiculous, Movie, Sounds, Produced

Daniel Day-Lewis is extraordinary; I think he may be one of the best actors ever that we've worked with.

- Kathleen Kennedy

Think, I Think, May, Daniel

The most important thing is to have a point of view and have something to say. That is important if you are filmmaker or artist. That means you have to experience the world.

- Kathleen Kennedy

The Most Important, Means, Filmmaker

Not every script that rolls in is ready to shoot. Few are, actually. So you go back and work on the thing.

- Kathleen Kennedy

Work, Go, Back, Shoot

Nobody understands what a producer does.

- Kathleen Kennedy

Nobody, Producer, Does, Understands

The problem with some truth-tellers is that they don't do it in a way that makes people want to listen.

- Kathleen Kennedy

Problem, Want, Some, The Problem With

There's nothing I like more than to have one of our movies run, and then I go to the ladies' room and listen to everybody talk about it. No one has any idea who I am.

- Kathleen Kennedy

More, Like, Everybody, Ladies

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