Interview with Sarah Fain, Executive Producer of Women's Murder Club
Over the last six weeks of the writer's strike most of the voices have been male since they do make up 80% of the writer's guild. Women & Hollywood asked Sarah Fain, Executive Producer of the new ABC drama Women's Murder Club (ABC, 9pm) to talk about being a female writer in the TV business and how the strike has affected her and her show.
Women & Hollywood: You're in the middle of your first season on the Women's Murder Club and you are now on strike for the foreseeable future. How do you think this will effect the momentum of the show?
Sarah Fain: It's hard to say. At this point, there are so many possible scenarios. The strike could hurt us, it could help us, it could have a totally negligible impact, depending on how long we're out and what ABC's development looks like. It's something I really try not to think about (which doesn't mean it's not a good question-- I'm just trying to live in a certain amount of denial). I can tell you that we have a really great fan base, which pleases me to no end. And we all love working on the show. I've worked with some pretty fantastic groups of people, but our team on WMC is something special. So I hope we all get at least five years out of it.
W&H: Women are 20% of the writer's guild membership, and in TV they make up about 27% of the writers. Why do you think it is still so hard for women writers to break into Hollywood?
SF: Depressing numbers. Yikes. Liz (my writing partner) and I talked a little bit about this whole woman-writer thing in Written By a couple months ago. It was a bit of a relief, because it's something we've been hesitant to talk about with any degree of candor for a long time. And I'll still be somewhat restrained, because we're not sitting in my living room bullshitting with martinis and cigarettes. Although I don't smoke anymore. And I don't drink nearly enough. And my living room's a mess.
Anyhoo-- there's no question that there's a certain amount of sexism in this town. Probably in every town and every industry. For the most part, we just let it roll gracefully off our backs. I think if you're not willing to do that, it's harder to succeed. Which is screwed up and sad, but true. It's just harder for women-- and it's not like it's easy for men. Why is it harder for women to break in? I wish I had a good, specific answer for that. But it's all so subtle. I will say that I think it's getting easier. There are great men out there who really don't operate that way-- like Joss Whedon and Shawn Ryan, both of whom we've been fortunate enough to work for. And there are a lot of amazing women role models. People like Dawn Prestwich and Nicole Yorkin, Barbara Hall, and Yvette Lee Bowser. They made it easier for us, and hopefully we'll make it easier for the folks who come around next.
W&H: Most of the voices we've heard about the strike has been male comedy writers. Can you let us know why you support this strike? Since women have fewer positions as writers do you think the strike will have a more adverse effect on women?
SF: This strike sucks for everyone. I think most of the voices out there have been male comedy writers because there are just so MANY of them. Throw a dart in this town and you'll hit a male comedy writer. Or the model/actress he's standing next to (read: hitting on). And I say that with love. There are many male comedy writers I adore. But you're seeing them on the news because... well, they like to talk. A lot. It can be annoying. But the issues are the same for all of us. We all have a lot to lose-- as do the actors, directors, and crews.
W&H: Most people don't know the term showrunner. Can you explain a bit about what you do and how in TV the Executive Producers are writers where in film they are not.
SF: Showrunners are basically the people who carry the vision of the show and make sure that vision is being implemented throughout the process of creating a series-- in the scripts, in casting, in the directing, editing, music, etc. Since Women's Murder Club is our first show, we're lucky to have Scott Gemmill as our co-showrunner. Which is extremely handy, because there's a lot to do, and we can all split things up when it gets nuts. On any given day, a we'll be in the writers' room (hopefully) approving story ideas, giving notes on outlines and scripts, re-writing, sitting in casting or approving casting tapes, making notes on cuts or sitting in editing, taking notes calls from studio and network executives, approving production choices in any number of arenas (sets, wardrobe, props, etc.), toning directors, and managing whatever crisis happens to arise. It's pretty much the best job there is-- never boring, always engaging, creative, and of course insanely stressful.
The difference between being a feature writer and a television writer is pretty huge. The entire structure of television is about educating writers in the process of making a show (at least it should be), so that they can be producers and showrunners. You start out as a Staff Writer, then move up the ranks through Story Editor, Executive Story Editor, Co-Producer, Producer, Supervising Producer, Co-Executive Producer, and Executive Producer. Each title basically indicates an increased level of experience-- not just as a writer, but as someone who can also produce a show. In television, the writers are in charge. We hire directors, and they are expected to execute our vision. In features, writers are less empowered. Once a film script is sold, writers are significantly less involved in the production process. It's safe to say that they're usually not involved at all. Film is a director's medium. TV is a writer's medium.
W&H: TV is much more receptive to women's voices than film is; and ABC is the most female friendly network outside of Lifetime. Why is TV a more welcoming medium for women's voices and women leads?
SF: I can't speak to film, but in television... it's all about the numbers. ABC has only gradually moved into its current female friendly state of being. It took shows like Desperate Housewives for anyone (but Lifetime) to realize that there was a goldmine in shows that particularly appeal to women. And ABC has been extraordinarily successful in tailoring their programming to the fairer sex. It's cynical, perhaps, but it's really all about money. They make shows that appeal to women, women watch the shows in large numbers, they make advertising dollars. What I will say about ABC in particular is that across the board, their shows don't talk down to women-- which is probably why we watch them.
W&H: What advice can you give a person struggling to break into the TV writing game in Hollywood?
SF: Succeeding as a television writer is, in some ways, a war of attrition. It takes time to break in. So if you're not willing to give it three to five years, you might as well go home. And even in three to five years, you may not get anywhere. The harsh truth is that it's all a crapshoot. I've been really lucky, and worked really hard. I'm not sure which was more important-- the luck or the hard work. I wouldn't have made it without both.
I definitely recommend getting into a writers' group. It's important to keep producing material, to keep improving. It keeps you motivated and helps you develop a thick skin. Which you're gonna need. Getting to know writers is crucial. When Liz and I first stared trying to get into tv, our old agent told us to make friends with as many successful television writers as we could. At the time, I was Lauren Holly's second assistant, which basically entailed brushing her dogs' teeth and making pedicure appointments. Liz was making $9000 a year writing young adult books. We thought our agent was insane. How were we supposed to meet successful television writers? Like, what, is there some corner in Brentwood where all the television writers hang out? And then we met one tv writer (just happened to be Bob Fisher, who eventually co-wrote Wedding Crashers), then another, then another... and now everyone I know is a tv writer, and all I want to know is where's the corner with the nice, single, professor-types?
Great and honest interview in the Washington Post with Gabrielle Union star of the new film Last Holiday
Some quotes:
In Hollywood, you play a mom and instantly, you've got osteoporosis. I didn't want to age myself.
I'm lobbying Congress [about funding for rape crisis centers], advocating for breast cancer awareness. . . . I'm busting my [heinie], why are you assassinating my character? When I'm about the only one saying anything about our community? . . . Why do we subscribe to a crabs-in-the-barrel mentality? If I was getting arrested, if I had kids I don't take care of, if I was walking outside without my underwear, I'd get it, I deserve it. . .
A fact of birth puts me behind the eight ball. . . . The biggest roadblock is ignorance and getting people to change their minds about who can play what. Hollywood panders to the 18-to-34 crowd. That demographic doesn't care about race and the package it comes in. They care about the hottest chick. They just like hot chicks. . . . I was talking to my girlfriends, and we were talking about how no woman of color has her own show. Except America Ferrera and "Ugly Betty." . . . Reality TV looks more like America than movies do. But as bad as [African American actresses] have it, Latinas, Asians, Middle Easterners or anyone who's a combination of that has it way worse. . . . If a movie is under $10 million, then it's a black movie. "Bad Boys II" had only one white guy, but no one said it was a black movie. No one asks the cast of "Lord of the Rings," "How does it feel to be in a movie that doesn't represent what America really looks like?" (Washington Post)
Gabrielle Union, Relishing Her Latest Holiday Treat
More Awards
NY Film Critics
Best Actress: Julie Christie, "Away from Her"
Best Supporting Actress: Amy Ryan, "Gone Baby Gone"
Best First Film: Sarah Polley, "Away from Her"
Best Animated Film: "Persepolis," directed by Vincent Paronnaud and Marjane Satrapi
Bahamas International Film Festival
Dramatic Prize- "The Iron Ladies of Liberia" by Daniel Junge and and Siatta Scott Johnson
New Vision award - "I'm Through with White Girls" by Jennifer Sharp.
Lifetime Achievement Award- Daryl Hannah
Rising Star Award- Naomie Harris
Broadcast Film Critics nominations (supposedly largest critics org, with 200 TV, radio and online critics.)
PICTURE
Atonement
Juno
ACTRESS
Amy Adams — Enchanted
Cate Blanchett — Elizabeth: The Golden Age
Julie Christie — Away From Her
Marion Cotillard — La Vie en Rose
Angelina Jolie — A Mighty Heart
Ellen Page — Juno
SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Cate Blanchett — I’m Not There
Catherine Keener — Into the Wild
Vanessa Redgrave — Atonement
Amy Ryan — Gone Baby Gone
Tilda Swinton — Michael Clayton
ACTING ENSEMBLE
Hairspray
Juno
DIRECTOR
no women!!!
WRITER
Diablo Cody — Juno
Nancy Oliver — Lars and the Real Girl
ANIMATED FEATURE
Persepolis
YOUNG ACTRESS
Nikki Blonsky — Hairspray
Dakota Blue Richards — The Golden Compass
AnnaSophia Robb — Bridge to Terabithia
Saoirse Ronan — Atonement
COMEDY MOVIE
Hairspray
Juno
FAMILY FILM (LIVE ACTION)
August Rush
Enchanted
The Golden Compass
Hairspray
PICTURE MADE FOR TELEVISION
Tin Man
FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM
4 Months, 3 Weeks, and 2 Days
La Vie en Rose
The Orphanage
SONG
Come So Far — Queen Latifah, Nikki Blonsky, Zac Efron, Elijah Kelley — Hairspray
Do You Feel Me — Anthony Hamilton — American Gangster
That’s How You Know — Amy Adams — Enchanted
News
"Sandra Bullock is attached to star in comedy "One of the Guys," which she's producing with Todd Garner for 20th Century Fox. Project is based on a pitch by brothers Tom and Tim Mullen. Story is about a woman who throws her all-male circle of friends into chaos when she embraces her feminine side." (Variety)Sounds like another male slanted movie that just happens to have a woman as the lead. These are the scripts our top-tier female actresses have to choose from. Yuck.
