There are many shitty jobs in this world, but assistant to a high-powered, Harvey Weinstein-esque Hollywood player has got to be one of the worst — because those jobs are not always about actual work. In Kitty Green’s first narrative feature, “The Assistant,” the dour titular character (Julia Garner) shuttles a young woman new to the city up to a hotel for a meeting with her boss, whom we never see. After a few short months, the assistant realizes she has the shittiest of shitty jobs and figures out that something horrible is going on. So she does what she can and goes to HR, but everyone she works with is involved in a full blown cover-up. Their complicity is worn on their sleeves.
This movie is about Weinstein, the women he terrorized, and the people who protected him. With his recent sentencing and incarceration, “The Assistant” is not only extremely prescient, it feels like an urgent call to arms.
In honor of “The Assistant’s” release on VOD — it is now streaming on Hulu, and available for rent and purchase on other platforms in the U.S.; it will hit VOD in the U.K. on May 1 — the Girls Club’s next conversation will focus on Weinstein’s fall and the ensuing cultural sea change. It will take place Thursday, April 30, at 12:00 p.m. EST.
Presented in partnership with Bird’s Eye View, Remaking the Film Industry: Towards a Better, More Inclusive Future – Lessons from the Reckoning will be a multi-pronged conversation focusing on women who were affected by Weinstein, and how they have taken their trauma and turned it into action; how films and TV are using the reckoning in storytelling; and how companies and initiatives are taking the lessons learned and building a different world.
Guests will include Dame Heather Rabbatts, Chair of Time’s Up UK; Jennifer Smith, Head of Diversity, BFI; Ursula MacFarlane, director of “Untouchable”; Mark Gill, Founder and CEO, Solstice Studios; Adrienne Becker, CEO and Co-Founder, Level Forward; and Silence Breaker Sarah Ann Masse. Other guests will be announced. The segments will be moderated by Bird’s Eye View Director Mia Bays, Women and Hollywood Founder Melissa Silverstein, and writer and activist Kate Muir.
This conversation is open to the public. There are limited seats, so be sure to register in advance. Please do not register if you cannot attend — we want to make sure there’s room for everyone who plans to participate. If you cannot attend the live event, it will be available to watch at any time following the event at the same link.
Event details are below.
Founded by Silverstein, the Girls Club is a community for women creatives, culture-changers, and storytellers to connect, create, network, advocate, support, and redefine entertainment. The Girls Club is offering a one-month membership free of charge when you sign up. If you identify as a woman and would like an invitation to this community, please email girlsclubnetwork@gmail.com and let us know a bit about who you are and what you do.
