via
http://ift.tt/2gTeiCJ:Ryan Murphy's American Equality Story: The Showrunner's TV Directors Are More Than 50 Percent Female Now:
talesofthestarshipregeneration:
..
After hearing former publicist Nanci Ryder speak at THR’s 2015 Women in Entertainment breakfast, Murphy realized that he was in a position to make a dramatic impact on that front, and in February, he launched Half. The foundation mentors TV newcomers who are women, people of color and/or members of the LGBTQ community toward occupying at least 50 percent of the directing slots on his sprawling roster of series: American Crime Story, American Horror Story, Scream Queens and the upcoming Feud.Ten months later, having gotten the green light from his boss, Fox Television Group chief Dana Walden, Murphy has more than delivered on his promise, with 60 percent of his directing gigs going to women, dwarfing the industry standard: a paltry 17 percent. “He’s already surpassed his own targets,” says Walden. “This past season, the majority of episodes on all three of his shows — and, in the case of Feud, all of the episodes — were helmed by female or diverse directors.”
Outside the foundation, Murphy has boosted inclusivity across the board. “I sat down with every department head on every show that I make and said, ‘You need to hire 50 percent women when you can,’ ” he says. “If you don’t have them, like the grip department, train them.”
There are luminaries in the mix as well. Jamie Lee Curtis, star of Fox’s Scream Queens, had directed only once prior to her turn behind the camera on the show. “The discovery, for me, is that I’m a director and have been my whole life,” says Curtis, a zealous photographer. “I have a movie in development at Paramount, at Amazon, and I will now say, ‘Why don’t I direct it?’ instead of ‘Who are we going to have direct it?’ ”
...Angela Bassett, the Oscar-nominated actress who’s been part of Murphy’s repertory company since 2013’s American Horror Story: Coven, previously directed 2015 Lifetime telepic Whitney — but says offers did not roll in until she tackled a recent episode of AHS: Roanoke. “You wonder when the next opportunity will come,” says Bassett, who hesitated when Murphy asked her to take a stab at AHS. “I’m not like Ryan, I’m more of a two-item juggler,” she says with a self-deprecating laugh. But the experience changed her outlook. “I’m still an actor for hire, but now it’s about taking meetings to let people know I’m just as excited about directing.”
MORE
tip of the hat to him on this. especially in training folk for the tech depts.
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
