Lucasfilm’s VP of Post-Production, Mike Blanchard, Retires After 30 Years
Mike Blanchard, vice president of post-production at Lucasfilm, is retiring this month after 30 years at the company.
Blanchard joined Lucasfilm in the 90s and was brought on to the post-production department in 1995 to help with the completion of The Adventures of Young Indiana Jones, as described in the post announcing his retirement on Lucasfilm.com. “It’s the most beautiful place on Earth, and now I’m working there?,” he said about his first day at Lucasfilm. The opportunity came to him after meeting a well-known producer at a time when he was considering the graduate cinema program at USC after attending Film School at the San Francisco State University. He said:
“My girlfriend at the time, her father knew Kathy Kennedy’s father. He offered to see if she’d be willing to have a meeting with us. She agreed, and we drove down to the Amblin offices. The amazing thing was that even though Kathy had a horrible cold that day, she still took the time to speak with us for over an hour. Based on what I shared about my aspirations, she told me that I needed to get a job in the business and work my way up, rather than accumulate additional college debt. She gave me spot-on advice for how to maneuver into this world.”
His work on Star Wars began with the release of the Special Editions in 1997, and then he moved on to The Phantom Menace and the rest of the prequels. Working on Attack of the Clones, the first all-digital movie, was a highlight. He described the dynamics of Lucasfilm back then as trying their best to live up to George Lucas’ standards: “We had a clarity of purpose that came straight from George. We didn’t want to let him down. For me that was it. Once we knew what he wanted, we had to do everything we could to get it done.”
Blanchard would eventually reunite with Kennedy after George Lucas sold the company to Disney. Two of the highlights of the Disney era are working with Rian Johnson and Ram Bergman on The Last Jedi, and then with Ron Howard on Solo:
“I loved the dynamic between Rian and Ram, the way they work together is fantastic. It’s really a model for what a director and producer team can be. On Solo, I finally got to work with Ron Howard, and it’s absolutely true that he’s the nicest man in show business. So collaborative, and aware that everyone is there to help him get where he wants to go and he’s so appreciative of everyone’s efforts.”
He’s the latest from the old George Lucas guard to leave the company, and though he’ll obviously miss his home for 30 years, he looks forward to a much-deserved retirement:
“I’ve spent my career trying to get out in front of problems and always have multiple contingencies in place if and when they arise. I’ve been under deadlines every day. It’s time to let that go. I’m looking forward to having no plan and letting each day unfold.”
Pippa Anderson continues to serve as senior VP of post-production.
Miguel Fernández is a Spanish student that has movies as his second passion in life. His favorite movie of all time is The Lord of the Rings, but he is also a huge Star Wars fan. However, fantasy movies are not his only cup of tea, as movies from Scorsese, Fincher, Kubrick or Hitchcock have been an obsession for him since he started to understand the language of filmmaking. He is that guy who will watch a black and white movie, just because it is in black and white.
