LucasFilm Exec Kathleen Kennedy becomes second woman to receive Will Rogers Pioneer of the Year award
CinemaCon proved to be an exciting time for the Oscar-nominated producer and LucasFilm co-chair Kathleen Kennedy, who became only the second woman in history to receive the Will Rogers Motion Picture Pioneers Foundation’s annual Pioneer Of The Year honor.
Steven Spielberg and producer Kathleen Kennedy on the set of ‘Jurassic Park’
Wednesday at CinemaCon, Lincoln‘s Joseph Gordon-Levitt played host while his co-star Sally Field presented the award pointing out Kennedy’s $11 billion-grossing career achievements. “In an industry that is not and has not been female-friendly, where even today women behind the camera represent only 18% of those working in film, Kathy has beaten those odds the only way a woman can: By being so much better than most everyone else”, said Field.
The first winner, Sherry Lansing, sent a note of congratulations.
The foundation is the big charity boosted by all the major studios, who were represented in person and in a tribute reel featuring many of Kennedy’s colleagues and collaborators: George Lucas, Steven Spielberg, Frank Marshall, Harrison Ford, Lawrence Kasdan, Tom Cruise, Tony Kushner, Bob Iger, Alan Horn, Jim Gianopulos, Sid Ganis, Laura Linney, Amy Poehler, Will Arnett, Megan Chernin, Dennis Muren, Ethan Hawke, and Jimmy Buffett.
