Check it out — Women and Hollywood is in The New York Times. The Times did a profile of me and the work of Women and Hollywood to coincide with a major milestone: The blog is celebrating our 10 year anniversary. We marked the occasion with a party in New York City October 17 and in Los Angeles October 25. We have an event planned for London November 27. Thank you so much to all of those who have attended and are planning to attend these parties, and for the messages of support and encouragement I’ve received. And most importantly, thank you for continuing to be a part of the Women and Hollywood project and fighting the good fight.
Below you’ll find an edited excerpt of my opening remarks for NY and LA.
When I decided about a year and a half ago to do something to acknowledge the 10th anniversary of Women and Hollywood, I wanted it to be a celebration because we spend so much time in our work calling attention to how much things need to change. In fact, our website says, “Hollywood is broken, especially for women. We’re working to fix that.”
The broken Hollywood that many of us in this room see on a daily basis is on global display since the news about how Harvey Weinstein sexually harassed and assaulted women for decades broke over two weeks ago. As Emma Thompson said, he is the tip of the iceberg. These last couple of weeks have unmoored the industry. There has been a tectonic shift, and with it, a real opportunity for systemic change. I’ve spent hours doing radio and TV interviews and the questions, of course, were about how someone could get away with this for 30 years, but also about what can be done to change the business. While it saddens me that we are having this conversation as a result of women suffering, the fact that we are having a global conversation about sexual harassment, toxic masculinity, and the institutional sexism that envelops the industry is much needed.
The industry must change in many fundamental ways. This is about the lack of opportunities for women in every area. It’s about the lack of access to capital. It’s about the casting sides that require women to wear tight t-shirts even though that has nothing to do with the part. It’s about how even the women at the tippy top of the business still report to men. It’s about how women’s voices are discounted. It’s about how women disappear once they turn 40. It’s about how few parts there are for women of color and how there are even fewer opportunities for women of color to direct or write. It’s about how the cultural narrative is white and male-centric.
For the first several years of Women and Hollywood it felt like I was yelling into the abyss, but in the last couple of years, people began to pay attention. Everyone knew that Patty Jenkins directed “Wonder Woman” this past summer and why this fact was noteworthy.
None of this would be possible without people who support your vision. There would be no Women and Hollywood without Barbara Dobkin. She trusted what I was doing and I am forever grateful to her.
And I am grateful to all the sponsors who supported this event and to all the people who believed in me and in the work.
There are many women and one guy who have been a part of the Women and Hollywood site. I am grateful to all of them for helping to get us to this place.
People ask me all the time why I do this work, why I am so passionate about it, especially because I am not looking to get a job in the business. I do this work because I believe that we are desperate for diverse stories from diverse points of view. Because stories are how we connect to one another. They are our cave paintings. People still watching movies from decades ago with as much passion as they watch movies released last week. And there are still so many stories that are missing, so many are hungry for different perspectives which can help explain why “Hidden Figures” became such a hit and “Wonder Woman” has now grossed $821 million worldwide.
This issue is personal for everyone in here. I know that we are all reeling from the last week. But now is the time — more than ever — for us to come together as a community to push for real systemic change. This won’t be easy. In fact, I think it probably will get worse before it gets better. But we all know this is so important. I promise that Women and Hollywood will continue to be at the forefront of this fight and I call on everyone here to be a part of making real, substantive change in Hollywood.
