- 19 hours ago
Reese Witherspoon spoke at The Hollywood Reporter's Power 100 Women in Entertainment.
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Short filmTranscript
00:00It's so nice to see so many people I've worked with throughout the years or been in meetings with or held their hands and whispered,
00:07we've got to do something about this business, you guys.
00:10What are we going to do?
00:14You know, this, I just, we're going to need to scroll up because I'm way, I'm just skipping over everything,
00:21but the fact that I have so many friends here is amazing.
00:25And the fact that my family is here, my daughter and my son, it meant so much to me.
00:29And I called him and I was like, you guys, you just have to show up.
00:31I'm too nervous to do this without you.
00:34And my incredible husband, who is so supportive and also a very proud LMU grad and one of the trustees.
00:42So Stephen Galloway, that's your guy.
00:50He can organize you guys.
00:53And Debbie Martinez, if you need any help, we are here for you as a family to help these women
00:59who truly deserve all the support that they will receive.
01:03Thank you so much to the Hollywood Reporter for this honor and this gorgeous event and to Lifetime.
01:08And what an incredible crowd.
01:10Oh my gosh, there's so many extraordinary people here and so much brain power and people who are listening very intently.
01:16But I do want to say it's important to acknowledge the men here today because none of the empowerment of women works without you.
01:27And to John Legend, who always lifts up women and is always such a strong advocate for women,
01:33thank you so much for speaking up and speaking out.
01:36And Ronan Farrow, who I've communicated my thanks so often to him for exposing these stories that have changed our culture.
01:47So thank you.
01:49You are amazing.
01:51You use your voice in such a powerful way.
01:53So when I was thinking about today, I was thinking about what I wanted to say and I was a little bit nervous
01:58and mostly I was overwhelmed with this huge honor of it all,
02:01but also the pressure of really wanting to knock it out of the park for you guys.
02:04So I just kept telling myself, even if you blow it, it's, you know, in front of all these women,
02:09there's breakfast because breakfast is one of my favorite meals.
02:13And I was like, at least there would be coffee.
02:15So there is coffee, which is great.
02:17And biscuits, y'all.
02:19It's like they knew I was coming.
02:20I mean, I really, really love coffee.
02:23My kids say that I sometimes love coffee more than them.
02:27But so at least there will be that.
02:29So here we are.
02:30I am so humbled to find out that I would be the recipient of the Sherry Lansing Leadership Award.
02:37There are just so many things in that sentence that just blow my mind.
02:42The first is that I get to be associated with Sherry Lansing,
02:45who is such a hero of mine and the quintessential powerhouse in a power suit.
02:51Long ago, she proved that women can be leaders in this business,
02:55bursting through the door of Hollywood's C-suite with dignity and class and intelligence,
03:00which could not have been easy with those shoulder pads.
03:04And like, that was hard, you know.
03:07But when I, I was just thinking as I was writing this speech,
03:11the conversations she must have heard, the bias she encountered on a daily basis.
03:18I, I'm just, everything you just said about me, I echo back to you in double.
03:25I'm in awe of your achievements.
03:26And I am so proud to be here, standing in the path that you created for all of us.
03:32So, thank you.
03:34The second thing that blows my mind about this award is the word leadership.
03:39But I, I'm going to come back to that in a minute.
03:42I wish I could have told my 22-year-old self that I'd be standing here one day.
03:49I mean, being recognized by people I profoundly admire for my small contribution to our world.
03:56But this is who I was at 22.
03:59I had just made a movie called Election.
04:02And it had come out, and, and, and we had had pretty good reviews.
04:08But I was pregnant, and I was 22, and I had a beautiful baby girl who's sitting right here right now.
04:16Which is also a whole other speech.
04:19And even though the film was really well reviewed, my salary wasn't much to speak of.
04:22So, basically, I had, I was a new mom, and I was broke, and I needed to go back to work.
04:28So, I was hustling for a job, and I was auditioning all over the place.
04:32And I found that all the scripts that I really loved were at this one particular studio.
04:37And the, I would always get to the last round of callbacks, and the director wanted to hire me, but the studio wouldn't hire me.
04:42So, I couldn't figure it out.
04:44And I finally called my agent, and I said, why, why do I keep getting vetoed at the studio?
04:47And he said, oh, here's the thing.
04:50That exec thinks you are Tracy Flick.
04:55He thinks you're a shrew.
04:58A shrew?
04:59I'll never forget that he used the word shrew, because it sounded Shakespearean.
05:03And important.
05:05So, by the way, the definition of the word shrew, as it pertains to a woman, is technically a woman of violent temper and speech.
05:11Which, nowadays, I understand sort of to be a woman who speaks her mind and raises her voice against the system, which underestimates her.
05:19So, I would like to just say, thank you.
05:21I am a shrew.
05:23Does anyone else feel like maybe they're a shrew?
05:25Can I see a raise of hands?
05:26Yes, thank you.
05:29I knew I liked you people.
05:32But back to the story.
05:33Okay.
05:33My agent got me the meeting with that executive, who didn't like me.
05:37And he said something to the effect of, okay, well, don't be too intimidating, and don't be too smart, and don't use a bunch of SAT words.
05:43Just be cool.
05:45And wear something cute, like a leather skirt or something.
05:48Now, y'all, I am not cool.
05:53Okay.
05:53And I didn't own any leather skirts, because I'm not, I'm not, like, exactly like a leather skirt kind of girl.
06:00Just ask my kids.
06:01I'm just, I don't have edge.
06:02I'm just not edgy.
06:04But I accept that.
06:06So, I was annoyed, but resolute, and I really wanted a job.
06:09So, I went and bought a leather skirt.
06:11And I got all dressed up, and I went to the studio walking in my leather skirt and into the meeting, and the executor asked me, he was like, well, what do you want out of your career?
06:21And my 22-year-old self told him that I wanted to give funny and dramatic performances, and I wanted to deliver smart dialogue,
06:29and create fascinating characters like my idols, Holly Hunter, and Sigourney Weaver, and Meryl Streep.
06:35And he turned to me and said, well, not that many women get to be the lead in movies, and also, Meryl Streep is completely over.
06:44I'm not even kidding.
06:49I'm not, I, I can't, I, this actually happened to me in real life.
06:54And I don't remember what I said to him, because I just sort of went blank and just started nodding.
07:00But if I could go back in time and talk to my 20-year-old self, this is what I'd tell her to say.
07:08First of all, sir, I am not actually Tracy Flick.
07:12That's a character I played in a movie, so that's how acting works.
07:17Yeah.
07:17And one day, in December of 2019, I will be sitting in a room at Milk Studios with so many women who are leading our industry by producing and creating films and television and shows on every platform.
07:34For millions of people who really want to see better stories about women on film, there will be so many of us, you won't be able to write us off.
07:47And also, you don't ever get to talk about Meryl Streep like that.
07:58Okay?
08:00Ever.
08:01And for those of you wondering, this executive left the studio shortly after, and I haven't seen or heard of him since.
08:07However, earlier this year, I had the distinct privilege of working with Miss Meryl Streep, and it turns out Meryl is doing just fine.
08:15She's actually doing great.
08:17Really good.
08:20But the rest of my early career began to unfold in a way that I am profoundly proud of.
08:25But I have to say, certain aspects of it still frustrate me.
08:28When I was 25, I started a production company at a movie studio that made exactly one movie in five years.
08:35And I walked away from that experience with a real feeling of defeat.
08:39That I was trying to work inside a system that was not built for me to succeed.
08:43So a decade later, after experiencing many professional ups and downs, being condensed, condescended to, and literally patted on the head at times, which happens to be a hazard when you're a short person.
08:54But, no, after a decade, I was ready to try my hand at producing again.
09:01I mean, I had made around 40 movies by then, and I had read countless scripts about buffoonish men and token female characters who were solely defined by their romantic relationships with those men.
09:12Enough was enough.
09:14So I decided to go on a meeting tour of all the studios to ask how many movies were being developed for women.
09:19And the answers were grim.
09:22Of all the seven major studios, the answer was one studio.
09:26One movie was being made with a female lead out of 140 movies.
09:31As I was told by a studio head at the time, well, we already have one movie starring a woman this year.
09:38We can't make two.
09:40Can you guess the year this was?
09:43It was 2011.
09:45Not 1911.
09:482011.
09:50So, against all the advice I'd ever received in the movie business, like, you should save for retirement in your 40s because you're not going to work very much.
09:56And never spend your own money in the movie business, I decided to invest in myself by self-funding a production company.
10:06I recognized that I was privileged enough to have made enough money as a working actress to support this crazy venture, but I was also brave.
10:13And perhaps naive enough to believe that I could actually pull it off.
10:17So, I got to work.
10:18I read a ton of books.
10:20And I prayed that it would all work out.
10:22And I just kept putting money into my company and showing up and betting on myself.
10:27Because I am my own best lottery ticket.
10:30And now, in my 40s, I'm working more than I ever have.
10:33And I'm making more money than I ever have.
10:35And that's not to brag.
10:37That is just to illuminate how much our business has really changed.
10:41And it's changed because of women like my fellow Sherry Lansing Leadership Award honorees.
10:46Viola Davis.
10:48Tina Fey.
10:49Shonda Rhimes.
10:51Jane Fonda.
10:52Oprah Winfrey.
10:53And the magnificent Meryl Streep.
10:55They have continuously worked to broaden and expand the path that Sherry paved for all of us.
11:01And the examples of marvelous women like these have taught me really important things about female leadership.
11:08That it's not about ego or getting to the top.
11:11It's about creating a community of people who are extraordinary at what they do and working together towards a common goal.
11:18So, that's what I love about my company, Hello Sunshine.
11:22Hello, table.
11:23Are you 20?
11:2424.
11:24Table 24.
11:28Everybody at this company shares leadership responsibility.
11:31And together, we keep the trains running on time.
11:33Producing brings me incredible joy.
11:37And the bell really told for me this year as an actress, too.
11:39Getting to shoot three of the most fulfilling projects of my career, surrounded by incredible men and women.
11:45All telling stories with women at the center.
11:48Not just being the best friend.
11:50And I got to experience it with the likes of my extraordinary pal and partner and the very tall person, Nicole Kidman.
11:58People like my real-life friend, Jennifer Aniston.
12:02And the phenomenally spoken and gracious-hearted, Kerry Washington.
12:12Actually, you can see Kerry together and I in Scream very soon.
12:15March on Hulu 2020.
12:17Sorry, guys.
12:17I'm a producer.
12:18I had to say that.
12:19I really wish I could have told my 22-year-old self that this is what I would be doing right now.
12:26I could have saved myself the expense of that leather skirt.
12:29And then, this is the part that really kind of blows my mind about this award is the word leadership.
12:35Because leaders go first.
12:38Leaders pave a path for people to follow.
12:40And leaders lead.
12:42And for the first part of my career, that's not what I did.
12:45I was definitely a follower.
12:46I walked in a path that had been hard-won and nicely paved by actual leaders.
12:52But as I walked in that path, I got to act in so many films.
12:55And I'm deeply proud of that experience that I had.
13:00The second half of my career, when I started producing projects like Gone Girl and Wild and Big Little Lies became successful,
13:07I started to realize, I think I know how to do this.
13:11It literally took me that long to figure out.
13:13I think I know how to do this.
13:16And I recognized the inherent privilege that I have simply by being a white woman in this industry.
13:20And how hard as it was for me at times, it is incalculably harder for so many others, like my African American colleagues, my Latina colleagues, my LGBTQ colleagues, and my differently abled colleagues.
13:33The path is still too narrow for so many people.
13:37And as more and more women are needed and wanted and deserve to walk down the path, it was clear that that path needed to expand, expand in so many directions and be much more inclusive.
13:50Somebody needed to do something.
13:52When I became involved in the Time's Up movement, two things happened.
13:59I found myself in rooms with other phenomenal women who I had been siloed off from for most of my career.
14:05I was always the only actress on a movie set.
14:09Sometimes the only woman out of 150 people.
14:12So I never really got a chance to meet my colleagues or work with them or talk or hear their stories.
14:18And when we got together, it was revelatory.
14:23These women weren't, you know, enemies or rivals.
14:27They were my colleagues and peers and allies.
14:30And the second thing that I heard was stories that other women had of harassment and discrimination that sounded a lot like my own experiences I had as a young woman in this industry.
14:44This is happening.
14:45And although it was horrifying, I finally felt like I wasn't alone.
14:50There was a community of women.
14:51And we were all there for each other.
14:53And we were finally talking.
14:55And that is a very powerful thing.
14:57I remember at one meeting, I was sitting next to the incomparable Shonda Rhimes, that notorious underachiever.
15:04And after the meeting was over, I turned to Shonda and I said, well, these stories are awful.
15:11We have to do something.
15:13We have to change this business.
15:14Someone has to do something.
15:17And I will never forget, Shonda turned to me and said, you're going to do it.
15:21And I said, hold on, Shonda, I can't, but hold on.
15:29I was not going to tell Shonda Rhimes no, because Shonda has affected more change in our industry in one season of television than most people do in a decade.
15:39And also, I don't talk to Shonda Rhimes like that.
15:42You just do whatever she tells you to do.
15:44I truly didn't think of myself as a leader.
15:47And to be honest, I wasn't sure I was a leader until Shonda said that about me.
15:53It seemed really like a scary job for somebody with a power suit and kick-ass shoulder pads.
15:59But what changed for me in that moment was the realization that even if you don't think of yourself as a capable leader, if somebody else does, it just might work.
16:09People like Shonda believed in me, people like Ava DuVernay, my Time's Up sisters, Natalie Portman, America Ferrara, Eva Longoria, they believed in me.
16:22People like Carrie and Jennifer and Laura Dern and Zoe Kravitz, my colleagues, some of whom are here at HBO, Hulu, Netflix, Amazon, Sony, and Apple, they all believed in me.
16:36Leather skirt not required, thank goodness.
16:38The encouragement I feel from a community like this cannot be put into words.
16:43I'm just so deeply grateful, and I promise you, I will always be working to do more for all of us in this business.
16:52And we get to redefine, what does it mean to be a leader in this business?
16:56What does it mean to be a female leader if the world is shifting a little bit and we are feeling culture change?
17:02I don't think we really know because we haven't truly seen it yet, but it's happening.
17:07Everything, every day, every minute.
17:11And to our 40 mentees here today, as you embark on your extraordinary journey into the world, please remember this about leadership.
17:20A lot of people can recognize a problem and admire it and look at it and complain about it, but not everybody will do something about it.
17:30Leaders are really doers.
17:32So even if you don't think of yourself as a leader or you're hesitant or you're hypnotized by a voice in your head that says you can't, too bad.
17:40Do it anyway.
17:41Hey, we need you.
17:43Be the first person to say hi.
17:45Send the first email.
17:47Break the silence in a room.
17:49Ask the first question.
17:51Embrace your inner shrew.
17:54And do something.
17:56I stand here truly humbled to be with you all.
17:58It says it's for leadership, but I stand here knowing that it's about partnership, and I wouldn't be here without all of you.
18:04So make a friend, share a biscuit, share a business idea, share your email.
18:09I can't wait to applaud and witness what all my powerful sisters will accomplish in the future.
18:13Thank you so much.
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