But other high-profile women, such as “Star Wars” super-producer Kathleen Kennedy (who isn’t mentioned), surround themselves with men.įollowing a whirlwind history lesson in which film scholar Jeanine Basinger reminds that women were nearly equal partners in the film industry at its origins (see Pamela Green’s documentary “Be Natural: The Untold Story of Alice Guy-Blaché” for the story of just one of these pioneers), “This Changes Everything” describes how things changed for the worse: In 1979, half a dozen female members of the Directors Guild known as “the Original Six” found that during the previous three decades, only 0.5% of all assignments were given to women, and they sued the studios for discriminatory hiring practices, with surprising results. “Grey’s Anatomy” producer Shonda Rhimes (who appears here) has used her position to fix that imbalance somewhat, emphasizing diversity across the board. Of course, if the system were working as it should, women would already be better represented on both sides of the camera. Where Adrion seemed to be calling for a more violent revolution, Donahue advocates for a more peaceful awakening: Women shouldn’t have to storm the castle, if Hollywood simply let down its drawbridge. That paradox has been called out by the 50/50 by 2020 movement and serves as the basis of “Half the Picture,” Amy Adrion’s looser and more essayistic dive into the same subject earlier this year. If anything, it goes a long way to explain why this absolute necessity is still being treated as a “minority” issue - grouped with efforts by queer and nonwhite artists for visibility - when women make up more than 50% of the population. Portman gets a laugh when she says, “I’ve worked with two female directors on features, and one is myself.” But that’s hardly an amusing statistic. One actress after another shares stories of misogyny on set (Sharon Stone recalls one director who would ask her to sit on his lap when giving notes), citing how few opportunities there have been to collaborate with women behind the camera. Produced in close collaboration with actress-turned-advocate Geena Davis (who questions yet again why the success of “Thelma & Louise” didn’t do more to change Hollywood), “This Changes Everything” appeals to the general public while functioning primarily as a memo to the entertainment industry itself, echoing what the Time’s Up movement has been saying since the Harvey Weinstein scandal broke - not so much about abuse of power, though that’s a topic of conversation here, too, but about the absolute necessity of sharing what power there is equally between the genders. Some, like Alison Bechdel, have been pointing this out for years, though many a (male) critic let it go by unquestioned. Marshaling a sprawling subject into a relatively streamlined package, editor Jasmin Way smartly blends talking heads, low-key reenactments, and damning clips from throughout film history, capitalizing on the fact that it’s increasingly difficult to watch classic movies (heck, even many being made today) without the retrograde gender politics slapping you in the face. But that doesn’t mean it’s not helpful to hear it articulately communicated by some of the most respected women in the business - people like Jessica Chastain, Reese Witherspoon, Cate Blanchett, Lena Dunham, Portman, and Meryl Streep - and backed by hard data and the threat of a looming ACLU investigation. Chances are, if you work in Hollywood, “This Changes Everything” won’t teach you anything you don’t already know.
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