Lucasfilm President, Kathleen Kennedy, will be honored at the Oscar Wilde Awards this year along with her husband Frank Marshall, both of whom have long and illustrious careers as film producers. The ceremony will take place February 27 at the historic Ebell Theater in Los Angeles. Actors, John C. Reilly and Éanna Hardwicke will also be honored at this year’s ceremony.
This is the 19th annual Oscar Wilde Awards, founded and hosted by the US-Ireland Alliance, which aims to foster relations between the U.S. and Ireland in the arts, as well as education, politics, and business fields. You may be thinking–Is Kathleen Kennedy Irish? She sure isn’t! While the Oscar Wilde Awards focus primarily on Irish accomplishments and talent both in Ireland and in the U.S. the awards also extend to individuals with (presumably?) Irish heritage. Both Kennedy and her husband are born and raised Californians.
However, they certainly have enough accomplishments to garner an award. Kennedy and Marshall co-founded Amblin Entertainment with Steven Spielberg and went on to produce a long list of highly successful films, including: E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982), Gremlins (1984), The Color Purple (1985), The Goonies (1985), Empire of the Sun (1987), Who Framed Roger Rabbit (1988) and the Back to the Future and Indiana Jones movies. This list doesn’t even include her later films, such as the Jason Bourne films, Signs, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, or notably, the Star Wars sequel trilogy.
US-Ireland Alliance founder, Trina Vargo, had the following comment on their recognition:
“The Irish are known as being great storytellers, and you can’t find two greater storytellers, in the history of filmmaking, than Kathleen Kennedy and Frank Marshall.”
For more information on the US-Ireland Alliance’s founding and mission, check out the information below:
The US-Ireland Alliance is a proactive, non-partisan, non-profit organization dedicated to consolidating existing relations between the United States and the island of Ireland and building that relationship for the future. The organization connects current and emerging Irish and American leaders in various spheres – including education, politics, business and the arts – for the mutual benefit of both countries.
The Alliance was created by Trina Vargo in 1998, in recognition of the fact that the relationship between the United States and Ireland was undergoing a dramatic transformation. Ireland had emerged as a modern, confident and successful European country, and traditional sentimental attachments on the U.S. side were being reinforced by the desire to forge a modern, mutually beneficial relationship. The US-Ireland Alliance was created to take advantage of this extraordinary dynamic.
US-Ireland Alliance events are renowned for their interesting guests, relationship-building opportunities and the promotion of a modern relationship. The annual “Oscar Wilde Awards” attracts Hollywood heavyweights and creative artists and led to J.J. Abrams filming The Force Awakens in Ireland.
Congratulations to Kathleen Kennedy and all of this year’s award recipients!
When she isn’t watching her friends and family’s eyes glaze over at the mention of The Clone Wars, she’s at the park with her dog, Melvin, or on the couch with a book in one hand and a drink in the other. Physically, she lives in Ohio; spiritually, she lives in Naboo.
source: www.starwarsnewsnet.com