| It's
precisely those changes that filmmaker Moore Rhys set out
to explore in her documentary Tinseltown Tomboys,
tentatively slated for release late next year.
"I
was a big fan of The Celluloid Closet," explains
Rhys, "but it left me wanting more. The way the film
ended was 'And things are changing now...', but I wanted to
see the changes. And I wanted to see all the people
making these changes happen."
Rhys
was finally inspired to do something about it last April when
she was preparing to film her entry for GLAAD's annual public
service announcement (PSA) competition. In reviewing one of
the releases GLAAD asked her actors to sign, Rhys was startled
to find a clause warning actors participating in the PSA that
they were very likely to be perceived as gay if the spot aired
on national television, and that they should be prepared for
the potentially negative consequences to their careers.
"It
made me sad," Rhys explains, "and it made me think,
at the same time." That's
when Rhys decided to make Tinseltown Tomboys, which
looks at "the subtle and not-so-subtle ways that progress
has been made, and is still being made."
Rhys
hasn't had any problems finding women and transfolk
willing to be interviewed—in fact, she has been surprised
and gratified at the enthusiastic support she's received as
word of the project has made its way through the grapevine
of queer women in entertainment. There are even a few filmmakers
allowing Rhys to follow them over the course of a year as
their films get made and submitted to festivals. This is just
one of the reasons Rhys is taking a year to shoot the documentary;
it also gives her time to line up funding through grants and
private investors.
But
it's not just out lesbian filmmakers and writers in whom Rhys
is interested. She's also interviewing queer women working
in entertainment who don't directly mold the content, but
have an indirect effect on it, or on the people who do—like
the out sound editor or cinematographer, or the lesbian casting
director for network television who casts the extras that
form the backdrop of daily life on popular television shows.
"The
fact that these women are out and comfortable with themselves
is creating a positive working environment overall,"
says Rhys. The more out lesbians working in film and television,
Rhys contends, the harder it is for straight directors and
writers to exploit lesbians in their work. "If you have
a lesbian grip working on your film, or a lesbian editor,"
she explains, "hopefully you'll be too embarrassed to
put a stereotypical lesbian murderer into your film."
While
the topics Rhys explores with each subject vary somewhat
according to job function and experience, her questions are
intended to get at the changes they've seen in both entertainment
content and their work environments over time, whether they
see more women in traditionally male roles and what it's like
when they themselves are in those roles, and what connections
they see between being out and the work they do.
Although the entertainment industry is still very much dominated
by straight heterosexual men, Rhys has intentionally sought
out a diverse group of subjects, partly because she believes
that documentaries have the potential to be part of social
change. Consequently, there is a greater racial diversity
in Tinseltown Tomboys than we often get to see in
movies about queer women and transfolk, and a broad spectrum
of queer sexual orientations are represented (the documentary's
website explicitly describes the film as a "celebration
of the work and lives of out lesbian/bisexual/queer/trans/dyke
women and FTMs in film and television").
Although
Rhys is the principal editor, director, writer and and producer
of Tinseltown Tomboys, she isn't making it alone:
a number of women have volunteered their time to help make
the film. From directors of photography to sound technicians
to line producers, this documentary is truly a collaborative
effort by queer women in entertainment, as well as a product
of the very progress Rhys is chronicling.
So
far, the biggest challenge Rhys has encountered is
convincing those who have made a living working behind
the camera to step in front of it, for a change. "Some
of them are very shy," she laughs.
Too
much footage is another problem, but that's a problem Rhys
is glad to have. "I'd rather err on the side of caution
and interview as many different voices as possible,"
she says. Plus, she adds, "thanks to DVD extras, there's
a built-in home for the great footage that doesn't make
it into the film."
Although
she has many months and hours of editing to go before Tinseltown
Tomboys will finally be seen by the public in late 2005,
Rhys is encouraged by the overwhelmingly positive response
she has received from queer women in entertainment, and by
her own experience making it. "I am inspired every time
I talk to these women," she adds. "I figure it's
my job to make the kinds of films I want to see."
For
more details on the documentary, visit the
official Tinseltown Tomboys site.
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