… and New York, for that matter. And I’m talking about WRITERS!
Of course, there are some small roles in film and television that are played by unattractive female actresses (the psychotic neighbor, the diner waitress, the homeless woman, the awkward teen friend, etc.) – and we sort of understand why ‘on-camera’ talent has to have a certain look.
But writers? Why do they have to look a certain way? They just have to be able to write. Right? Quasimodo should be able to make it in this town – that is, if Quasimodo was a really good writer. Is that naive?
Being fairly new to L.A., I was shocked to learn that the new crop of budding female screenwriters (those under 30) are freakin’ hot. And, of the females out there writing (and there are millions), the hot ones seem to be the only ones getting meetings.
There is a very high profile production company down the hall from my office which receives a good amount of foot traffic from writers pitching script ideas. The males that come in are pretty much all unattractive, unkempt and fat (the standard male screenwriter uniform of baseball cap – [Cubs preferably], shorts and a giant t-shirt is a cliche… but in this case, a true cliche). [Note: If the male screenwriter becomes successful, then his body changes – he’s still unattractive but now he’s ‘kempt’ and very much in shape. Success leads to getting laid, getting laid leads to getting in shape.]
The female writers that come in are all hot. There’s not one Wendy Wasserstein in the bunch. Some wear glasses to have that ‘smart’ look – but they all accentuate their boobs and have a nice tight ass. Perhaps this current wave of new writers was influenced in some way by Scriptgirl411. Even though ScriptGirl is mostly satire, there is a certain fantasy that male producers have (and have had since Hollywood began) and she hits it right on the head.
Female screenwriters make up a extremely low percentage of screenplays written in this town (oh, let’s say 2%, though accurate data is very hard to come by) – so I suppose when male producers feel they need to hire a female to give the script a ‘certain voice’, being the shallow boys that they are, they would prefer to spend all that time with someone hot. That’s pretty much the way this town works in every area of entertainment (even catering… thank you Giada De Laurentiis!).
I do believe this is just a fad and it will change once some of the beautiful but untalented writers start to get screen credits and the movies fail at the box office. Talent will win the day – much as it did for older male screenwriters who were shut out in the 90s for younger guys right out of film school.
Today, it doesn’t seem to matter how old a male writer is, the quality of the script seems to win out. This is mainly due to the low number of projects being greenlit and the low tolerance for bad writing. Top male executives (and a couple of females) at production companies and studios can no longer take a chance on being the “cutting edge” type or “trend setting”. In today’s economy, their jobs and bonuses are very much on the line – so they’d better get it right (write).
However, it’s funny, but when it’s a hot, young, female screenwriter, film executives have an amazing tolerance for bad writing. This, too, will change.
Talent will win the day – though it’s much easier to get tits in the door than a foot.
Jill Kennedy – OnMedea
Well, I guess you’re “write” about that! In a way, men like to screen out women who aren’t being very “upfront” with them! I happen to like the glasses- the hidden decadence and glorious brilliance that goes beyond just the beauty of the matter, an ever flowing gently floating stream of the lust for relaxing feathers in a flock of the eternal blowing winds of the Earth’s perpetual motion and inertia- like in Eignstein’s laws and nuclear Physics- it takes a lot of radiance to shine! I suppose it is true that certain women just have to “bend over backwards” to earn their merit. Thus, this story is every unfolding! You just have to learn to stand tall and point things in the correct direction with momentum and force, put up a little resistance, and have a little “take charge” attitude with some capacitance as you go throw a vortex of turmoil! I’ll have to reflect on this a bit more- a little fine tuning can generate a lot of substance. After that, particles can accelerate everywhere to the tune of music to my ears!
What?
Dr. M’s message seems like the product of a software program that generates complete sentences in the hopes of getting past spam filters.
DjB
Doc is likely a physics major or an electrical engineer. All the physics talk makes it sound like it comes from Sheldan on the show, “Big Bang Theory”
I would definitely hire that woman you have pictures of in your blog. The quality of the script wouldn’t really matter. That can be fixed by some geek for a couple hundred bucks.
I don’t think this is a new phenomena. And I don’t think it’s only in the entertainment business. Just look at the investment banking business – most of those women in executive positions are pretty hot.
There was a time when it was all about who the male executives wanted to hang around with (and/or date). But now, with the bottom line determining your future, everyone is almost forced to find the best product and not necessarily the cutest product (if you know what I mean). Perhaps that’s an upside to the recession.
Wendy Wasserstein never made it in Hollywood. I don’t even think one of her plays was turned into a movie. If it was, it was a flop.
I think they made the Heidi Chronicles into something. TV movie maybe? Joan Allen was in that. So she got a cup of coffee in Hollywood.
http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0913715/
Agents know what type of person is able to get meetings in this town and mostly it is attractive people that these executives want to spend time with. Unattractive or overweight people just don’t generally have the confidence to pull off a successful meeting. Unless you’re a sci-fi writer, then if you’re too skinny the executives think you must not know your stuff. Only fat sci-fi writers please.
That’s why fanboys want only Fat Peter Jackson to direct the Hobbit – not the skinny Peter Jackson who did Lovely Bones.
“Much easier to get tits in the door than a foot” – great line!
Lol… A good read. And ironic, considering Jill is pretty easy on the eyes herself.
It’s also true in the executive ranks. Not an unattractive senior female executive in the industry.