![]() ![]() Observing people’s foibles and the things that make them charming and funny is very interesting, but I think there’s got to be something underneath the humour. I like mixing comedy because life is serious and humorous. SS: If I wasn’t a filmmaker I probably would’ve liked to be a cultural anthropologist or sociologist since I’m interested in human behaviour. How do you balance the two, and is it difficult to move from one tone to another when directing? One of your biggest fortes is comedy, yet you’ve infused your films with helpings of drama that transcend the genre. ![]() And it’s interesting to note that Twilight was originally directed by a woman. They’ve discovered that female audience in the “fantasy” world with films like Twilight (2008) and The Hunger Games (2012). You’d think the studios would recognise that there is a large female audience that also likes action-adventure movies and get some women to direct them. There’s a club of guys that they trust to make those kinds of movies, especially when the budgets reach $100 million-plus and they want the film to appeal to 15-year-old boys. But work directing the big action movies and their sequels is usually given to men. There’s a bunch of women recently who’ve directed big animated movies. Internet distribution (VOD) has opened up the door for other voices that were shut out of Hollywood, whether it’s women, African-American, Asian filmmakers or other “outsiders” (i.e., non-white males). Now, there are more interesting independent movies that can be made at a lower budget and still reach an audience through new distribution technologies. There’s a direct correlation between the budget level and the number of women given the opportunity to direct those films. There aren’t so many studio films that are character-based or narrative-based – and many “Hollywood” films are super-expensive, action-adventure CGI, and women aren’t getting the opportunity to direct those. ![]() I think it’s gotten worse in the last 10 years for women wanting to work within the Hollywood studio system as the film industry has gotten polarised. When you’re an independent filmmaker you’re also usually a producer you’re giving yourself the opportunity to direct. The interesting films are mostly being produced independently. On the other hand, in some ways it’s not any better. Certainly, Kathryn Bigelow broke the glass ceiling by getting an Oscar. In some ways we’re more aware of female directors. We’re in the 21 st century! Why are the movies still dominated by male directors, and is there anything we can do about it? She was a character I identified with at that time. The protagonist was a young woman living in downtown Manhattan in the late 70s and early 80s, on the fringes of the punk rock scene. The first movie that I did, Smithereens (1982), was a low-budget independent movie that was told from a female perspective. Growing up in the 60s and 70s – that was an era influenced by feminism and it influenced my way of thinking at the time. Being a woman and not having other role models to show me how to do it, I just pulled from my thoughts, perspective and concerns, and made films from a familiar perspective. However, I was aware of personal filmmakers like those coming out of the French New Wave, and John Cassavetes here in the US, so I thought that personal filmmaking was something I was interested in. But there really weren’t many role models for young women wanting to make movies. Of course there were women like Lois Weber and Ida Lupino and my personal favourite, Lina Wertmüller. At the time I had heard about other female film directors but I wasn’t that aware of many women who directed movies. SS: I went to film school in the mid-70s at New York University. What have you learned from this era, and how has producing art with a woman-centric outlook changed since then? Right (1987) and Cookie providing a bemused, distinctly female cinematic perspective. You were one of the quintessential women’s voices of the 1980s, with films such as Desperately Seeking Susan, Making Mr. CURNBLOG recently touched base with her on these topics, addressing her thoughts on the balance of comedy and drama, the way to elicit strong performances from actors and the plight of women in Hollywood. Yet she’s a director at heart, and films like Desperately Seeking Susan (1985) and Cookie (1989), as well as TV series like Sex and the City (1998-2004), exemplify her light touch with the form. With a perceptive eye and an ear for dialogue, Susan Seidelman has an understanding of human behaviour that might, had filmmaking not existed, have landed her in a more scientific profession. ![]()
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