Tag Archive for 'Marti Noxon'

Digging a Little Deeper: Mad Men and Women Writers

Published
by
Melissa Silverstein
on August 14, 2009
in TV and Women Writers
. 6 Comments
Elisabeth Moss as Peggy Olson

Elisabeth Moss as Peggy Olson

Last week the Wall Street Journal published a piece The Women Behind Mad Men hailing basically hailing the show as being dominated by women writers.

I’m a big fan of Mad Men and am looking forward to the new season starting this Sunday.  But, one of the things I have learned since I started writing this site is to play close attention to titles because they mean a lot in Hollywood.  So while I give props to Matthew Weiner the creator, showrunner and dominant writer and voice on the show for hiring women (cause there are shows out there that don’t have any women writers like Conan O’Brien and David Letterman), it is important to keep straight the roles these women play in the Hollywood writer food chain.

(We all know it is very bad out there for women writers in Hollywood.  Look at my piece from earlier this week.  Women make up about a quarter of all writers in Hollywood.)

Everyone knows this show is all about Matthew Weiner.  It’s his baby.  He first pitched it to HBO since he worked on The Sopranos and they passed.  (I am sure they are kicking themselves now.)  So it went to AMC and it was that network’s first original series and it put them on the map.

While on the big screen the writer gets the credit for actually writing the script, TV is very different.  What all writers and producers on TV want is to get their names on an episode.  That becomes their calling card and enables them to use it for their next gig.

In TV the most important writing job is executive producer.  Here’s the rest of the hierachy: co-executive producer;  supervising producer; consulting producer; producer, co-producer, associate producer, executive story editor, story editor, and staff writer.

So let’s look at the women featured in the story and their titles:

Lisa Albert – Supervising producer

Marti Noxon – Consulting Producer

Maria Jacquemetton- Consulting Producer

Dahvi Waller- Co-Producer

Robin Veith- Executive Story Edior

Cathryn Humphris- Executive Story Editor

Kater Gordon- Staff Writer

There are no women executive producers or co-executive producers on Mad Men.  Those are the top jobs.  For example on Grey’s Anatomy aside from Shonda Rhimes the creator and Betsy Beers the non writing executive producer, there is another female c0-executive producer (Krista Vernoff) and a female co-executive producer (Joan Rater.)  Granted, Grey’s is a network show and has more writers and money.

I’m still not sold on Mad Men being a bastion a women’s influence.  I never felt that while watching the show.  Even though the article says 7 out of 9 writers are women (the list I have has 5 male writers but one might be a non-writing executive producer and 8 women), Weiner writes a lot and gets writing credit on most episodes of this show.   In season 1 he has a writing credit on 7 out of 13 episodes. The women have writing credits in season 1 are: Maria Jacquemetton (3 episodes), Bridget Bedard, Lisa Albert and Robin Veith.

In season 2 he has a credit on 10 out of 13 episodes.  The women with writing credits in season 2 are: Lisa Albert (2 episodes), Maria Jacquemetton (3 episodes), Robin Veith (3 episodes), Jane Anderson, Marti Noxon, Kater Gordon.  Robin Veith is the only woman who has a singular writing credit on an episode.

So as we go into season 3 I will be looking at the writing credits and hoping that these women have an influence onscreen, but if the story is to be believed and women are leading the way in the writing of the show they should have the appropriate credits on the episodes and in their job titles.

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Tags: Mad Men, Marti Noxon, Matthew Weiner, Shonda Rhimes, Wall Street Journal

HBO Working on Another Feminist Show?

Published
by
Melissa Silverstein
on July 30, 2009
in Feminism and TV
. 3 Comments

All of a sudden HBO seems to have gotten the feminist bug.  First they commissioned Theresa Rebeck to a do a pilot for Julie White called Women’s Studies, and now the team of Marti Noxon and Dawn Parouse Olmstead are writing a pilot for Diane Keaton to play a “Gloria Steinem” type editor who tries to reignite feminism by starting a porn magazine.

I personally don’t think starting a porn magazine would reignite feminism but Diane fucking Keaton in a TV show?  Another nail in the coffin for movies cause if Diane abandons there is only Meryl Streep left and she can only make so many movies a year.

But seriously, I love Marti Noxon (not that we know each other).  She recently worked on Private Practice and Grey’s Anatomy as well as Mad Men and Buffy the Vampire Slayer.  She is an incredible writing talent and Keaton is very lucky cause I guarantee that script will be way better than some of the movie ones she has been in lately. The article stated that once Keaton signed on they decided to incorporate some of her personality in the character. I just hope the character doesn’t wear gloves ever except on a winter day, shows her neck, and wears other colors besides white cause I can take that in one or two films but in a whole series, please.

The only thing I’m concerned about is whether HBO would move ahead on two similarly themed shows.  I want both those shows on the air.   How cool would it be if there were feminist shows on TV with both Julie White and Diane Keaton.  I’d just pee in my pants with excitement.  I wish I could get this excited about some of the upcoming movies.

Noxon, Olmstead set Grady Twins slate (Variety)

h/t Rebecca Traister

Update: There was an article in the HR about this too and I have to say I’m disappointed with both women’s quotes.  First, Parouse Olmstead says:

“There seems to be a new evolution of what women are sexually. Women are acting more like men sexually.”

then Noxon adds:

“We’re attracted to genres, horror and darkness, and we wanted to make sure we reminded each other that we won’t become Vagina Prods.,…Our goal to make scary shows for television.”

I hate both quotes so much!  What is all the crap about women acting more like men sexually?  Isn’t it just that women are actually talking about sex more and more comfortable talking about it more and that TV and films are exploring it more?  We’ve come a long way from Lucy and Ricky having one foot on the floor.

Maybe to some it seems like men are the norm that everything is based on, but I don’t operate in that universe.  Women are not little men.  We react differently to drugs, radiation, commercials etc.  Just because something is about women doesn’t mean that all women want to talk about is their vagina or their feelings or their laundry or god forbid their cats. Give me a break.  Have you watched Saving Grace or In Plain Sight recently?  Those women.  Tough.  Scary.  Intense.  Real.  That’s how I like my TV.

I beg you ladies, don’t buy this crap.  If you make a strong show about women being women we will watch.  If you write a show about a woman who wants to be a man we won’t.  It’s pretty simple.

Diane Keaton Set for HBO Comedy (HR)

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Tags: Diane Keaton, Feminism, HBO, Marti Noxon