1
00:00:03,838 --> 00:00:05,423
I'm
always made to look

2
00:00:05,423 --> 00:00:07,717
a lot shorter than the dude

3
00:00:07,717 --> 00:00:09,469
in the movie posters.

4
00:00:09,469 --> 00:00:12,138
I've had more ditches dug for me

5
00:00:12,138 --> 00:00:15,266
with male actors
who could've stood on a box.

6
00:00:15,266 --> 00:00:17,143
There was actually
a movie poster

7
00:00:17,143 --> 00:00:19,228
of this really
wonderful film I made,

8
00:00:19,228 --> 00:00:23,274
where they took my head, and
they put it on a smaller woman's
body.

9
00:00:23,274 --> 00:00:26,652
And it... it
was a while ago,

10
00:00:26,652 --> 00:00:28,988
so I guess Photoshop
wasn't as good then as it is
now,

11
00:00:28,988 --> 00:00:31,115
but it still looks weird to me.

12
00:00:31,115 --> 00:00:33,826
My mom calls it the
"big head poster."

13
00:00:33,826 --> 00:00:37,205
And I'm like, I know, because my
head is proportional to my body.

14
00:00:37,205 --> 00:00:39,749
Not the weird, like, 5'5" lady

15
00:00:39,749 --> 00:00:41,334
whose head they put me on.

16
00:00:41,334 --> 00:00:43,586
Like, it's super weird.

17
00:00:50,802 --> 00:00:52,220
Movies and television shows

18
00:00:52,220 --> 00:00:55,223
live or die based
on how they're perceived.

19
00:00:55,223 --> 00:00:58,142
And marketing has
a big part to do with that.

20
00:00:58,142 --> 00:01:00,520
Every time
you see someone on a talk show

21
00:01:00,520 --> 00:01:04,023
talking about a movie, that was
orchestrated by a publicist.

22
00:01:04,023 --> 00:01:06,818
Our work defines

23
00:01:06,818 --> 00:01:10,238
how people perceive
the movies that are out there.

24
00:01:10,238 --> 00:01:14,075
Movie marketing is all
about making a film feel like a
must-see.

25
00:01:14,075 --> 00:01:16,744
And oftentimes that relies

26
00:01:16,744 --> 00:01:18,996
on selling the sex
appeal of your stars.

27
00:01:18,996 --> 00:01:22,416
A publicist is hired
to help promote the work.

28
00:01:22,416 --> 00:01:27,213
We help them
with their whole, entire look.

29
00:01:27,213 --> 00:01:29,465
Introducing them to stylists,

30
00:01:29,465 --> 00:01:32,635
hairdressers, makeup artists.

31
00:01:32,635 --> 00:01:34,095
You have all of
these people that you assume
that,

32
00:01:34,095 --> 00:01:36,889
because you put money in
their pocket, that they want...

33
00:01:36,889 --> 00:01:39,308
not the best for you, but
you assume that they wanna see
you succeed

34
00:01:39,308 --> 00:01:41,602
because that means
they get to make more money.

35
00:01:41,602 --> 00:01:43,688
But... they're also people

36
00:01:43,688 --> 00:01:46,482
that know that sex sells

37
00:01:46,482 --> 00:01:48,943
and that a woman in
a certain type of way

38
00:01:48,943 --> 00:01:50,778
will make them more money.

39
00:01:50,778 --> 00:01:54,407
And so it becomes
this very manipulative dynamic

40
00:01:54,407 --> 00:01:56,242
that the people around you
who are meant to be

41
00:01:56,242 --> 00:01:58,536
protecting you and uplifting you

42
00:01:58,536 --> 00:02:01,539
are... the same
people pulling away

43
00:02:01,539 --> 00:02:05,376
all of the things
that make you you.

44
00:02:05,376 --> 00:02:07,587
GINA PRINCE-Young
actors have to put themselves
out there,

45
00:02:07,587 --> 00:02:10,089
and how many times
have you done your first

46
00:02:10,089 --> 00:02:13,176
cover shoot or magazine
shoot, and they thought it was
cool,

47
00:02:13,176 --> 00:02:15,094
you know, take your shirt
off and do some pose to cover.

48
00:02:15,094 --> 00:02:17,930
Over and over and over
and over and over again.

49
00:02:17,930 --> 00:02:21,142
Why? Why can't it
be about the work?

50
00:02:21,142 --> 00:02:23,186
- There was that famous
Vanity Fair cover,

51
00:02:23,186 --> 00:02:25,855
where Rachel McAdams
walked out of the shoot

52
00:02:25,855 --> 00:02:28,941
because Tom Ford,
who was directing the shoot,

53
00:02:28,941 --> 00:02:31,027
decided that they were just
gonna be naked on the cover.

54
00:02:31,027 --> 00:02:34,572
And Rachel McAdams said,
"I'm... I'm not doing that."

55
00:02:34,572 --> 00:02:38,451
It was like, "Oh, my gosh,
the actress dared say no

56
00:02:38,451 --> 00:02:40,703
to a Vanity Fair cover?"

57
00:02:40,703 --> 00:02:44,373
Because it was just accepted
that that's part of what you do

58
00:02:44,373 --> 00:02:46,334
to sell your movie and yourself.

59
00:02:48,336 --> 00:02:50,171
Does sex sell? Yes, sex sells.

60
00:02:50,171 --> 00:02:54,884
But we have to transform
even how we understand sex.

61
00:02:54,884 --> 00:02:57,094
I mean, that's a tall order.

62
00:02:57,094 --> 00:02:59,472
But that's what
really has to happen.

63
00:02:59,472 --> 00:03:03,309
Because, if it's a
passive, young woman

64
00:03:03,309 --> 00:03:05,978
in her underwear,
you know,

65
00:03:05,978 --> 00:03:07,647
and then you have
the-- the male actors

66
00:03:07,647 --> 00:03:09,899
who can get up to 85

67
00:03:09,899 --> 00:03:12,151
and still play the
sexy male leads.

68
00:03:12,151 --> 00:03:15,738
They get to be human beings, and
they get to be sexy at the same
time.

69
00:03:15,738 --> 00:03:17,448
That's kind of denied to women.

70
00:03:21,285 --> 00:03:23,996
There's so much money
that's been spent on the movie

71
00:03:23,996 --> 00:03:26,290
before it gets
to marketing,

72
00:03:26,290 --> 00:03:29,627
and then there's so much
money that's spent on the
marketing, like,

73
00:03:29,627 --> 00:03:32,505
that, in some cases,
was the same amount of money

74
00:03:32,505 --> 00:03:34,882
that was spent on the movie.

75
00:03:34,882 --> 00:03:38,886
So, you could have a movie
that cost $50 million to make

76
00:03:38,886 --> 00:03:41,222
with $50 million in marketing.

77
00:03:41,222 --> 00:03:43,557
So, you've got
a hundred million dollars...

78
00:03:43,557 --> 00:03:45,309
...that you need to make back

79
00:03:45,309 --> 00:03:47,520
in box office.

80
00:03:47,520 --> 00:03:50,773
So, that's a huge
amount of pressure.

81
00:03:50,773 --> 00:03:54,860
I did a
movie that-- that I really love
and people loved

82
00:03:54,860 --> 00:03:58,239
called "Miss You Already,"
starring Drew Barrymore and Toni
Collette.

83
00:03:58,239 --> 00:04:01,701
But it was very hard to
get-- get it out there.

84
00:04:01,701 --> 00:04:04,578
They spent almost no
dollars marketing it.

85
00:04:04,578 --> 00:04:07,373
You know, even with
those two awesome actresses.

86
00:04:07,373 --> 00:04:10,126
It had a ten-minute standing
ovation at Toronto Film
Festival.

87
00:04:10,126 --> 00:04:12,920
But, you know,
people didn't believe we--

88
00:04:12,920 --> 00:04:14,880
"I don't know if we can
attract women to theaters."

89
00:04:14,880 --> 00:04:16,757
Well, you gotta try!

90
00:04:18,884 --> 00:04:21,512
If you are a director

91
00:04:21,512 --> 00:04:23,347
who has had a lot of success,

92
00:04:23,347 --> 00:04:27,268
then you will have
more control over approvals.

93
00:04:27,268 --> 00:04:29,562
But there were so
few women directors

94
00:04:29,562 --> 00:04:33,024
and so few women directors
being given those jobs that,

95
00:04:33,024 --> 00:04:35,776
you know, by definition, they
were just not in that bracket,

96
00:04:35,776 --> 00:04:38,904
so they didn't have
the same power of approval.

97
00:04:38,904 --> 00:04:41,741
- I recently,
on a project,

98
00:04:41,741 --> 00:04:46,120
had my executive...
call me

99
00:04:46,120 --> 00:04:49,457
and say that you're
pushing it with marketing.

100
00:04:49,457 --> 00:04:52,251
All the years
she had been at that company,

101
00:04:52,251 --> 00:04:55,921
no producer, male or female, had
been as involved in marketing

102
00:04:55,921 --> 00:04:58,632
as I was trying to be.

103
00:04:58,632 --> 00:05:02,678
And... Steven Spielberg has
worked for that company.

104
00:05:02,678 --> 00:05:05,848
Tell me he wasn't involved
in the marketing.

105
00:05:05,848 --> 00:05:08,851
And, by the way,
I get a stand-down phone call...

106
00:05:10,394 --> 00:05:12,021
once a month.

107
00:05:14,732 --> 00:05:17,109
Like menstr-- like a period.

108
00:05:17,109 --> 00:05:19,737
It's like, I know every 28 days

109
00:05:19,737 --> 00:05:22,323
somebody's gonna call me
and tell me to stand down.

110
00:05:24,075 --> 00:05:25,326
You
will have these big

111
00:05:25,326 --> 00:05:27,536
marketing presentations,

112
00:05:27,536 --> 00:05:30,456
and you will passionately
say, you know,

113
00:05:30,456 --> 00:05:33,334
of the three different poster
ideas or the ten different
posters,

114
00:05:33,334 --> 00:05:35,461
why you think this
one is important.

115
00:05:35,461 --> 00:05:40,257
With "Miss Bala,"
I didn't want her to have a gun.

116
00:05:40,257 --> 00:05:43,886
I didn't want her to be,
like, a gun porn thing.

117
00:05:43,886 --> 00:05:46,764
I thought that Gina
Rodriguez was amazing

118
00:05:46,764 --> 00:05:49,350
when she didn't even
have the makeup on,

119
00:05:49,350 --> 00:05:52,144
wasn't all glammed out,
and was fighting in the dust,

120
00:05:52,144 --> 00:05:55,189
and I found this great picture
of her, you know, I even mocked
up the poster,

121
00:05:55,189 --> 00:05:57,066
look how strong this could be!

122
00:05:57,066 --> 00:06:00,736
But they decided, nope, we're
going for the ultra-glam picture

123
00:06:00,736 --> 00:06:03,030
and the gun's in there.

124
00:06:03,030 --> 00:06:04,990
Now, did they listen
to me a little bit?

125
00:06:04,990 --> 00:06:07,827
Maybe. The gun was
slightly subdued.

126
00:06:07,827 --> 00:06:11,330
It wasn't front and center.

127
00:06:11,330 --> 00:06:16,127
There was a lot of bias in
the way that movies were
positioned.

128
00:06:16,127 --> 00:06:18,963
I look back on that,
and I think it's quite troubling

129
00:06:18,963 --> 00:06:21,882
that we were, you know,
dealing in stereotypes.

130
00:06:24,427 --> 00:06:27,346
For
"Jennifer's Body," I went into
making the film

131
00:06:27,346 --> 00:06:29,723
with the premise
that it was about a friendship.

132
00:06:29,723 --> 00:06:33,144
And about a toxic
friendship between two girls.

133
00:06:33,144 --> 00:06:37,940
And that's just not
what the materials suggested

134
00:06:37,940 --> 00:06:40,192
the movie had
anything to do with.

135
00:06:40,192 --> 00:06:44,738
It became so much about
Megan Fox as a sex symbol.

136
00:06:44,738 --> 00:06:47,199
As an object of
everyone's desire,

137
00:06:47,199 --> 00:06:51,078
and while that is
a component of the movie--

138
00:06:51,078 --> 00:06:54,457
and an important component of
the movie that I was attempting,

139
00:06:54,457 --> 00:06:56,542
and Diablo was attempting
to poke holes into--

140
00:06:56,542 --> 00:06:59,587
the main character is...

141
00:06:59,587 --> 00:07:01,172
a different character

142
00:07:01,172 --> 00:07:03,549
played by Amanda Seyfried.

143
00:07:03,549 --> 00:07:05,468
There was an original trailer

144
00:07:05,468 --> 00:07:08,137
that we saw a cut of...

145
00:07:08,137 --> 00:07:11,223
that didn't even have
the main character

146
00:07:11,223 --> 00:07:13,267
played by Amanda
Seyfried in the trailer.

147
00:07:16,353 --> 00:07:18,898
I was included to the degree

148
00:07:18,898 --> 00:07:21,442
that I was probably tolerated.

149
00:07:21,442 --> 00:07:24,028
I voiced my concerns, um,

150
00:07:24,028 --> 00:07:26,405
vigorously, repeatedly,

151
00:07:26,405 --> 00:07:29,992
um, and I'm sure was
a pain in the ass

152
00:07:29,992 --> 00:07:34,163
for everyone who had to...
to hear it from me.

153
00:07:34,163 --> 00:07:38,334
That was a moment of really
learning about a system

154
00:07:38,334 --> 00:07:41,754
that's bigger, you know,
sort of than...

155
00:07:41,754 --> 00:07:43,297
certainly than me at that time.

156
00:07:47,134 --> 00:07:50,054
think, in terms of marketing and
PR,

157
00:07:50,054 --> 00:07:55,267
has made people
more aware of tropes

158
00:07:55,267 --> 00:07:57,978
and those sort of
cringe-worthy moments

159
00:07:57,978 --> 00:08:01,065
of how women have been
portrayed at times.

160
00:08:01,065 --> 00:08:03,609
Everyone's now aware.

161
00:08:03,609 --> 00:08:06,237
And so, when I talk about
things, when I get shown

162
00:08:06,237 --> 00:08:10,449
an early look of a poster or
even concepts for a photoshoot,

163
00:08:10,449 --> 00:08:12,993
those conversations,
they're much easier.

164
00:08:12,993 --> 00:08:14,870
People are appreciative of the
fact that you pointed something
out

165
00:08:14,870 --> 00:08:17,289
that they may not have noticed.

166
00:08:17,289 --> 00:08:19,708
- So, your film's been released,
it's gotten great reviews.

167
00:08:19,708 --> 00:08:21,835
It's gotten strong box office.

168
00:08:21,835 --> 00:08:24,922
And then there's one last hurdle

169
00:08:24,922 --> 00:08:26,966
that a filmmaker is
going to have to jump over,

170
00:08:26,966 --> 00:08:28,634
and that's the awards race.