The Board of Governors of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences have announced that they will present the Irving G. Thalberg Award to Kathleen Kennedy and Frank Marshall, on November 18th at the Ray Dolby Ballroom at Hollywood and Highland Center. Kennedy is the first woman ever to get this award!
Kennedy and Marshall have enjoyed a long association with Steven Spielberg. Marshall received a best picture Oscar nomination for Raiders of the Lost Ark, while Kennedy, the first woman to receive the Thalberg Award, was nominated in the same category for E.T., War Horse and Lincoln. The two producers, who are also husband and wife, co-founded Amblin Productions with Spielberg and in 1991 went on to form their own production company, Kennedy/Marshall, which has had a hand in producing such best picture Oscar nominees as The Sixth Sense, Seabiscuit, Munich and The Curious Case of Benjamin Button.
Kennedy currently serves as president of Lucasfilm, overseeing the Star Wars movies, while Marshall most recently produced Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom as well as the late Orson Welles’ 40-years-in-the-making The Other Side of the Wind.
In announcing the honors, Academy president John Bailey said, “Choosing the honorees for its awards each year is the happiest of all the board of governors’ work. And this year, its selection of five iconic artists was made with universal acclaim by the Academy’s 54 spirited governors.”
Huge congratulations to all the announced winners especially Kathleen Kennedy!
