How Lucasfilm's Kathleen Kennedy Is Going To Ensure The New 'Star Wars' Is Awesome

"I learned firsthand how incredible and persuasive she is," said Abrams. "The thing about any pre-existing franchise -- I'd sort of done that. But when I met with Kathy, it was suddenly very tantalizing."

Or, she's just very good with Jedi mind tricks because all Kennedy said she asked Abrams was to "Please do 'Star Wars.'"

"Social Network" director David Fincher recalled his working relationship with Kennedy:

"When you, as a director -- call Kathy and say 'I need this …' she can actually remember the meeting where you explained why something was LINCHPIN to an effect you were trying to create -- or helped support an idea that you felt was essential to the story you are telling, and SHE CAN ACT ON IT.

So when Kennedy said Abrams brought up his "very genuine concerns" about other projects and the impact the role would take on his family she hinted the timeframe of the film's release may alter.

Abrams is going to be one of the busiest people in Hollywood in the next few years juggling multiple TV shows and movies in addition to "Star Wars." (More on that here.) And, Kennedy appears to get that.

"Our goal is to move as quickly as we can, and we'll see what happens," says Kennedy. "The timetable we care about is getting the story."

As a result, we may not be seeing "Star Wars" in 2015, but it will hopefully be worthwhile.

Tony Kushner who worked with Kennedy on "Munich" and "Lincoln" said she has no problem getting people focused on the task at hand.

"I got really upset on the set of Lincoln about something that was kind of minor, but I overreacted," said Kushner. "She said: 'Come on! Stop it!' She sort of barked at me. It was very effective."

Weeks before filming was set to begin on "Jurassic Park III," Kennedy told now DreamWorks CEO Stacey Snider they would start the movie over after already spending $18 million on the project.

"Kath said: 'Steven and [director Joe Johnston] aren't happy with the script,'" said Snider. "She had told me what the plan was, how the $18 million would be rendered productive, how they would fix the script and restart the movie." 

"Jurassic Park" screenwriter David Koepp spoke about Spielberg and Kennedy's working relationship:

"It's so efficient, it boggles the mind," says Koepp "They're able to accomplish in a day what mere filmmaking mortals do in a few -- and they don't seem to finish a lot of sentences."

And, it's paid off. 

Five films they've worked on together including "E.T.," "War Horse," and now "Lincoln" have all been nominated for Oscar Best Picture Awards.

We just may have to wait longer than expected for it to happen >