The Other 50%

Carina is a Writer and wrote the book called “You Play the Girl - On Playboy Bunnies, Stepford Wives, train wrecks, and other mixed messages.” Carina has written for tons of magazines and was a film critic at the LA Times, Entertainment Weekly and Salon.

She is whip smart and we had a fiery conversation about feminist cultural theory. We deconstructed the system that promotes discrimination, and the subtleties that make us question ourselves for decades before looking outward. Hold on to your hats.

Kayden is a native Angelino, Chicana, activist, storyteller. She is all about diversity and inclusion. A passionate and prolific filmmaker, she hires female crews, and believes in a rising tide raising all boats.

She is currently working on a series of films about Latina superheroes, which sounds like something you have not seen before. She’s not describing her characters as "strong" female leads because that should be inherent.

Sherry has had a long and successful career as a filmmaker, Studio Head, and philanthropist. She was Chairman and CEO of Paramount Studios for 12 years, after being the President of 20th Century Fox. Her films include Forrest Gump, Braveheart, Titanic, The Accused, First Wives Club…

She founded the Sherry Lansing Foundation and was a Co-Founder of Stand Up to Cancer, she serves on many boards, and she was presented the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award at the 79th annual Academy Awards.

Hilary is the Vice President of Production Finance at CBS Studios. Here’s a story about how the entertainment industry lures you in. If your first couple of jobs are Seinfeld and Waiting for Guffman, are you really going back to corporate audit? Of course not.

She’s now at the point in her career where leadership and mentorship has become as important as getting the numbers right. It’s legacy time, and when you can see big trends in the industry and are positioned to make a difference, you do.

Natasha is an Actor, Host and a Chef. She has a cooking show called Nosh with Tash. She started out as an actor and studied abroad but kept getting distracted by the farmer’s markets and the freshly baked bread.

Her mission is to make cooking accessible and fun for people who like to eat. Which is everyone. Not only is she incredibly charming and a great host, she is also very well educated and really knows what she’s talking about. Her first show was called Cinema and Spice and got picked up by Yahoo

Sujata is an Actor. She is known for her roles as Sarah on HBO’s Insecure, and as CeCe in the precursor to that show, Awkward Black Girl. We talked about what it’s like to be a woman of color in Hollywood when you don’t really fit into other people’s preconceived notions. We also talked about this year’s very promising pilot season that features many characters of color that are not caricatures, but rather real people.

Laurie is a Creative Producer. She is a producer on the shows “The Magicians,” “Aquarius” and “Trumbo.” She is a self-described schtunk from northern Indiana who can’t believe her luck in being completely in the action in Hollywood.

Be grateful, work hard, get involved.

Melissa is an independent filmmaker. Her film “Speak Now” is available on Amazon Prime, and she has several more projects going at the same time. She writes, directs and produces, and we discuss the life of an indie filmmaker. Her husband is her business partner and we also talked about balancing work and home and when you get to win the tie breaker.

Heidi is an actor, director and producer, and is currently releasing her feature film called “Darcy,” that is making its rounds on the film festival circuit and will be screening at the Socially Relevant Film Festival in NYC as the Closing Night Film on 3/22.

Heidi has a very interesting story that takes her to Germany after college, where she got her start in television.

We do talk about adult themes in this episode so perhaps you listen with your headphones in.

Lily is a Writer. She started out as an actress in the theatre, is a fellow Violet (NYU) and runs a female writer’s group called Bechdel Babes Writing Partners.

Her group is putting on a FREE industry only showcase welcoming Producers, Directors, Showrunners, and Literary Managers/Agents on March 22nd and 23rd.

We talk about Lily’s mid-career change, a bit about ‘kids these days’ and the importance of keeping arts in schools, and the vital need for women to be front and center in telling the stori