“The Fempire:” Female Screenwriters Give Hollywood a Run For Its Money

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Lotsa good feminist stuff on the wires today, like these four under-30 screenwriters kicking ass in Hollywood and watching each other’s backs. Again, the Times

“Mr. Spielberg will call her and she’ll be afraid to answer the phone,” Ms. Scafaria said of Ms. Cody. “I’ll be like, ‘Answer the phone!’ “

Ms. Cody said: “I’ll think it’s all over. I’m a pessimist.”

Ms. Scafaria said, “He’ll be calling to praise her.”

Ms. Cody won an Oscar for her screenplay for “Juno.” Ms. Scafaria is the screenwriter for “Nick & Norah’s Infinite Playlist.” …

With their pals Dana Fox, who wrote “What Happens in Vegas,” and Liz Meriwether, a playwright-turned-screenwriter, they make up a Hollywood powerhouse writing posse who call themselves “The Fempire.”

You can find them at work in their Laurel Canyon homes in their pajamas, or sitting next to one another at laptop-friendly restaurants. To see them gathered amid the dinosaur topiary around Ms. Fox’s swimming pool with their dogs (they all have dogs) is to see four distinct styles of glamour that bear little resemblance to traditional images of behind-the-scenes talent. Whenever one of them has a movie opening, they all rent a white limousine and go from theater to theater to watch the first audiences react…

I especially love the way they fly around the country supporting each other at premieres and, most importantly, giving each other permission to just fracking enjoy their success. To own it, something too many of us have a hard time with:

“This was never truer than during the hoopla surrounding “Juno,” Ms. Cody’s story of a pregnant teenager who decides to have her baby and give it up for adoption. The other women lent or bought outfits for Ms. Cody, but that was the least of it.

“They supported me through the wildest time in my career,” Ms. Cody said. “They helped me be excited for things when I was kind of shellshocked. They were the ones who had to literally take me aside at the ‘Juno’ premiere and say: ‘This is fun. You will never forget this. Please enjoy yourself.'”

From the mouths of babes.

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THE FACTS SPEAK FOR THEMSELVES.

At least we hope they will, because that’s our approach to raising the $350,000 in online donations we need right now—during our high-stakes December fundraising push.

It’s the most important month of the year for our fundraising, with upward of 15 percent of our annual online total coming in during the final week—and there’s a lot to say about why Mother Jones’ journalism, and thus hitting that big number, matters tremendously right now.

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So we’re going to try making this as un-annoying as possible. In “Let the Facts Speak for Themselves” we give it our best shot, answering three questions that most any fundraising should try to speak to: Why us, why now, why does it matter?

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