The Trouble at Paramount
I just read Patrick Goldstein's column, "The Big Picture" today in the L.A. Times. He's discussing the plight of Paramount's production chief, Gail Berman, who has been rumored to be in trouble because of her caustic working style. Apparently she isn't very nice to the production staff over there and also comes off, according to an inside source as someone who has an "unexamined loathing lurking just below the surface when she deals with the artists." Goldstein goes on to say that rumors of her imminent demise are "women in power" issues, reminiscent of "the trashing of Dawn Steel, Jamie Tarses and Amy Pascal".
Of course I know that those of you who've been reading Playdate have taken my comments in context to my personal experience with Dawn on The Big Picture and they have nothing whatsover to do with this "intolerance of powerful women" he alludes to.
The corporate entertainment women I've worked with in Hollywood (which includes non-film people like heads of various advertising agencies) are of a certain generation and the ones who've make it to top positions are products of an early-years feminist culture that in the beginning lauded females who aped male aggression and cunning in the workplace (back then women had to wear the female version of a power suit with those little frothy ties on the blouse). It's no accident that a certain kind of person was able to navigate through these waters and rise up through the very resistant ranks. I do believe part of it was by fear and intimidation, but mostly by crafty manipulation (I am the generation of Amy Pascal, who started as an assistant (I heard she was unpaid originally) for a small production company and quickly leveraged her way into the studio system.) I am also the generation of other women who made it to top studio positions, including Lisa Henson, who was my poker buddy when we were just starting our careers. She later became President of Columbia Pictures, which was no surprise to me. She used to deride our games as too "sissy" because we wouldn't play with unlimited funds. She and Amy were friends.
As for his opinion that powerful women don't get no respect, I think Patrick Goldstein doesn't get it. These women are sharks and they have big teeth. Do they get judged differently because they are women? I know so many equally powerful women in production positions, including producers and directors and they don't get the same heat. I think that's because they are not the political creatures I knew when I was the V.P. for a company with a development deal at Warner Brothers. Over time I became disenchanted with the constant gossip, backstabbing, and underlying jealousy of the true heart of the business (the creative people) that was grist for the daily mill. These women grew from baby dinasours to true monsters as their power expanded and allowed them freer reign over those less fortunate.
I freely admit that this particular archetype is not my cup of tea. At Warner Brothers, (and in my mid 20's) I had an executive office with the big, big desk covered in the requisite piles of scripts to read, and a comfy sitting area for meetings with writers and producers. Days were routed around endless phone calls fielding off rumor-mongerers looking for inside info on our various projects, a process repeated daily at expense-account lunches with other executives and agents who were either trying to get in or out of our professional pants.
When I left to work on The Big Picture I threw off the mantle that had become so uncomfortable; it just wasn't who I was. I remember clearly the first day we came into our Big Picture production offices a few weeks later. All production offices are temporary and you take what you can get. The place was dark, slightly musty, with old carpeting, junky furniture, and the roar of the Hollywood Freeway outside the windows. I shared a bullpen with three other people, including the Assistant Directors and the Property Master. My desk listed slightly and was dusty.
I felt free for the first time in years.
Of course I know that those of you who've been reading Playdate have taken my comments in context to my personal experience with Dawn on The Big Picture and they have nothing whatsover to do with this "intolerance of powerful women" he alludes to.
The corporate entertainment women I've worked with in Hollywood (which includes non-film people like heads of various advertising agencies) are of a certain generation and the ones who've make it to top positions are products of an early-years feminist culture that in the beginning lauded females who aped male aggression and cunning in the workplace (back then women had to wear the female version of a power suit with those little frothy ties on the blouse). It's no accident that a certain kind of person was able to navigate through these waters and rise up through the very resistant ranks. I do believe part of it was by fear and intimidation, but mostly by crafty manipulation (I am the generation of Amy Pascal, who started as an assistant (I heard she was unpaid originally) for a small production company and quickly leveraged her way into the studio system.) I am also the generation of other women who made it to top studio positions, including Lisa Henson, who was my poker buddy when we were just starting our careers. She later became President of Columbia Pictures, which was no surprise to me. She used to deride our games as too "sissy" because we wouldn't play with unlimited funds. She and Amy were friends.
As for his opinion that powerful women don't get no respect, I think Patrick Goldstein doesn't get it. These women are sharks and they have big teeth. Do they get judged differently because they are women? I know so many equally powerful women in production positions, including producers and directors and they don't get the same heat. I think that's because they are not the political creatures I knew when I was the V.P. for a company with a development deal at Warner Brothers. Over time I became disenchanted with the constant gossip, backstabbing, and underlying jealousy of the true heart of the business (the creative people) that was grist for the daily mill. These women grew from baby dinasours to true monsters as their power expanded and allowed them freer reign over those less fortunate.
I freely admit that this particular archetype is not my cup of tea. At Warner Brothers, (and in my mid 20's) I had an executive office with the big, big desk covered in the requisite piles of scripts to read, and a comfy sitting area for meetings with writers and producers. Days were routed around endless phone calls fielding off rumor-mongerers looking for inside info on our various projects, a process repeated daily at expense-account lunches with other executives and agents who were either trying to get in or out of our professional pants.
When I left to work on The Big Picture I threw off the mantle that had become so uncomfortable; it just wasn't who I was. I remember clearly the first day we came into our Big Picture production offices a few weeks later. All production offices are temporary and you take what you can get. The place was dark, slightly musty, with old carpeting, junky furniture, and the roar of the Hollywood Freeway outside the windows. I shared a bullpen with three other people, including the Assistant Directors and the Property Master. My desk listed slightly and was dusty.
I felt free for the first time in years.
posted by vallie at 7:52 AM
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