Kathleen Kennedy received an Honorary Award at last night’s Motion Picture Sound Editors annual Golden Reel Awards in Los Angeles, presented to her by legendary sound designer Ben Burtt.
Following Kennedy’s acceptance speech, the comic [Patton Oswalt] joked that she had gone backstage for a ritual “freeing her from the nerd mafia she’s been trapped with for years.” Regarding the fervent (and occasionally toxic) Star Wars fandom, Oswalt said Kennedy had been “freed from the comments section.”
Backstage, Kennedy reflected on her time at the top of Lucasfilm in relation to the fanbase.
“I really segued into [that job] when the fan expectations collided with social media. That really has created a kind of explosion. It’s alway has been important to Lucasfilm, that the fans are huge part of what the franchise is. So that was something that was new to me and something that grew over time, but it’s remained incredibly important to the company,” she said.
She concluded on-stage remarks with a tribute to people behind sound design, making reference to her 1981 film “Raiders of the Lost Ark,” the first in the Indiana Jones franchise.
“What I love most about sound designers and editors is your curiosity. You’re the only people I know who can hear the scrape of a toilet lid and think that’s it. That’s it! That’s the sound of the Ark of the Covenant opening,” she said.
Congratulations to Kennedy on this honorary award.
Read the interview in full here.
